Vengeance
by thechinskyguy
Summary: The newly revived Team Rocket – now known as the Rocket Empire – has taken over the Sinnoh region. Their new leader, Jasper, has his eyes set on an egg that mysteriously fell from the sky outside of Hearthome City. The only problem? Ash and Co. got to it first. Now it's a fight for survival as Ash, Brock, and Dawn can do nothing but hide from the Empire's deadly reach.
1. Chapter 1

_November 12_

Ash Ketchum had been trying to fall asleep, gazing at the night sky that enshrouded the forest outside of Hearthome City. He looked over at Brock, one of his travelling partners, sleeping like a rock. He sighed and went back to looking at the night sky when the fireball tore through it, illuminating the nighttime sky.

There was something mystifying about the fireball that attracted Ash, almost as if it were luring him. The fireball landed with a _thud_ in the distance, about a quarter of a mile away. He wasn't sure what made him run towards the gleaming white fireball, but something, and Ash couldn't identify what it was, but something made Ash want to run toward it and grab it. Pushing himself to his feet, Dawn, Ash's other travelling partner, shouted something at Ash, but he didn't hear what it was. He ran blindly in the night forest, the distant white light from the fireball the only guiding light he had.

When Ash finally reached the fireball, he saw that it was actually a white stone of some sort, no bigger than a loaf of bread. Any normal person's instincts would tell them that a white-hot fiery stone from the sky wouldn't be the safest thing in the world to pick up, but there was something about it that tempted Ash to reach for it. When he picked it up he immediately noticed that it wasn't hot, but rather cool to the touch. The fire was actually steam that poured out from the stone, which weighed at least twenty pounds.

"_Is there liquid nitrogen in here?" _Ash thought. "_Wait, there can't be! There's no liquid nitrogen in space. But if it's not that, then…"_

Dawn's tired voice behind him made him jump. "What is that thing, and where the hell did it come from?"

"I have no idea, it just came from the sky," said Ash. "It's some kind of stone, but I don't know what kind of stone would give off all this light."

It was that same light that revealed Brock jogging toward them, with Ash's Pikachu directly behind him. "You couldn't have waited to run off so suddenly without waking me up first?" he asked sarcastically. He turned his attention to the stone. "What's that?"

"You're asking the wrong guy," retorted Ash. Brock gestured to hold the stone, which Ash handed over. Brock took a careful look at it, examining it with a careful eye as the four of them silently trekked back to their camp, Pikachu on Ash's back per usual.

"Well, I can't say for certain," Brock said when they got back, "but this stone looks an awful lot like a Pokemon egg."

Ash and Dawn both looked at him astonishingly. "How does an egg like that survive a crash landing from space and emanate so much light?" Ash asked.

"Beats me," said Brock, "but it sure as hell looks like one. But the only problem is that it doesn't feel like one. It feels different, and it's a lot heavier, too. Even I can't identify it. We'll have to take it to a Pokemon Center tomorrow and see if one of the nurses can identify it."

"But how do we know that they can identify it if a breeder like you can't?" Dawn asked. Pikachu stared at it with intense curiosity, his eyes glistening in the egg's glow.

"It's the only shot we have," said Brock. "In the meantime, we'll have to keep it with us at all times. I'm not sure that something as weird as this should be left unsupervised, so we should sleep in shifts tonight." He glanced at his wristwatch. "It's 11:30 now, so I'll stay up with egg until about 3 or so, then Ash can stay up with it then."

"Sounds fine to me." said Dawn. If Dawn was fazed by not receiving a shift from Brock, she didn't show it. What she did show was worry. What she was worrying over was anyone's guess, because she wasn't one for worrying. She wormed her way back into her sleeping bag as Ash and Pikachu did the same into his, with Brock sitting himself up against a nearby tree.

Ash had a million questions racing through his head about the egg, but he didn't bother asking anyone. He wished that he had taken the first shift with the egg, because after everything that had just happened he was wide awake, even more so than he was before the fireball incident. Eventually, however, he somehow managed to doze off into a slumber.

* * *

_November 13_

Jasper had been called into "work" in the middle of the night, rudely awoken from his sleep that he had just fallen into. The private on the phone didn't say why he was needed, but that it was extremely important and required immediate quickly dressed into a simple t-shirt and jeans, nowhere near the normal work outfit he wore every day, and made the quick drive to the Rocket Headquarters in Celadon City, the eastern capital of the Rocket Empire.

The guard at the desk was too busy sleeping to buzz Jasper in, so he had to go in through the back way. He made the strenuous jog up fifty flights of stairs to the Executive Office, where he effectively ruled over the Eastern sector of the Rocket Empire, formerly known as Kanto.

Already in the Executive Office were Zane, Head of Foreign and Extraterrestrial Affairs, Mahon, Head of Warmaking and Enforcement, and Skylor, Head of Technological Affairs. They were all huddled over a table, discussing something over coffee, not having noticed Jasper walk in.

Jasper let out a short cough to get the Executives' attention. They immediately stood at attention when they heard it, but Jasper gestured for them to ease up. "I understand that you have something important to share with me. So why are all of you here? Is it really so damn important?"

It was Mahon that answered. "There are actually multiple things that need to be discussed, each of which corresponds to our respective department. These couldn't wait, sir, so that's why we called you in so early."

"Well, sit down then, and let's talk."

The three proceeded to pull up chairs to the large, round table that was in the center of the room. "Let's start with Zane. What do you have to share?"

"Well, sir, uh, our computers detected a small, unidentified object crash-land on Earth about an hour ago." said Zane. We were only able to get a still image of it before it flew off, but based on the speed, direction, and velocity in which it was going it may have landed somewhere in the Sinnoh region."

Jasper had an intense look of curiosity on his face. "Bring up the image of the object on the monitor," he said. Zane walked over to the computer on the wall and began typing furiously on the keyboard. Jasper turned to Mahon. "What did you find, Mahon?"

"Sir, I can report that the Empire's army is fully armed and set for the Sinnoh invasion. All we need is your word and we can send over the army for the initial overthrow." reported Mahon.

Jasper went from puzzled to joyous in an instant. "But we weren't scheduled for an overthrow for another three weeks! This is great news! This –"

"Sir, I don't mean to interrupt, but I think that my news will make Mahon's even better." That was Skylar, breaking her silence.

Jasper looked at her with mild irritation. "Go on." He said through clenched teeth.

"I've managed to hack into the central mainframe of the Sinnoh network," Skylar said. "We now have full access into their central database, as well as all of their surveillance mechanisms. We also have full control over their electrical grid. Once we invade, they won't stand a chance."

Jasper didn't have time to react, for Zane had retrieved the image of the object and had projected it onto the wall. It appeared to a blazing white ball of fire, and a small one at that. Not small enough to be a shooting star, though. None of them had any idea of what it was, but despite how mysterious the foreign object appeared, Jasper immediately knew what it was: an egg. But since when did eggs just fall from the sky like that?

"Skylar, have your men keep an eye on their surveillance systems tomorrow and see if anyone picked up the egg. If they did, we'll be able to find it much easier once we occupy Sinnoh. Mahon, keep your army on standby. I don't want to go out there just yet. We need to wait until the time is right." said Jasper.

Zane, Mahon, and Skylar all nodded. "In the meantime," said Jasper, "I'll send Laina to Sinnoh to act as a ground spy until we send in the troops. I'm going back home now. Don't bother me unless it's something EXTREMELY important. Being woken up at three AM once is bad enough." The three executives nodded again. With that, he strode out of the room and left the building.


	2. Chapter 2

_November 13_

Ash, Dawn, and Brock walked through the streets of Hearthome City, having just finished breakfast prior to entering the city. Ash had gotten little sleep the night before, nor was he able to eat much for breakfast, so he was walking in a daze, his eyes half open. When Brock had woken him up to begin his shift with the egg, he had been worried at first that something had happened to the egg. He had kept his eyes on it since, never letting it leave his sight.

He held the egg as the trio made their way to the Pokemon Center, which was in the center of town. His drowsiness was apparent now, as he had trouble walking in a straight line, let alone with a twenty pound egg in his hands and Pikachu on his back.

Dawn looked at him uneasily. "Ash, gimme that egg before you drop it!"

Ash said nothing, prompting her to grab it from him. Out of his intensifying wooziness, he then fell to the ground, having blacked out from exhaustion.

* * *

Skylar was called into the Surveillance Operative station while discussing possible hacking techniques with Mahon, having been told that something had been found that was crucial to the upcoming Sinnoh occupation. She wasn't told what it was (there was a strict level of confidentiality when it came to the Rocket Executives), but that it required her immediate attention. She promptly walked to elevator and pressed the button to Floor 6, where Surveillance Operative station was.

She was ushered to the monitors by a low-ranking Private as soon as she entered the room. "Ma'am, this is something you need to see," he said. He pointed toward one of the screens on the far left side. "This is footage we picked up earlier today from Hearthome City. The stone that we were told to look for has apparently been found by a group of teenage Pokemon trainers. We still aren't able to identify exactly what it is, but it appears to hold some sort of supernatural power, based on the light it gives off and how it made the boy here faint."

Skylar acted as if she didn't hear a word that the Private had said. She walked toward the monitor where the footage was playing and squinted long and hard at it, not breaking eye contact with the stone. After what seemed like a full minute she broke her hypnotic trance and said, "Fetch me Jasper from the Executive Office." The grunts in the room gazed at her, clearly troubled by her behavior. "NOW!" The grunts scrambled to call Jasper out of fright, for they had never seen Skylar so angry, at least not toward them.

Jasper arrived about five minutes later, clearly having rushed to get there. "What the hell is going on?!" he exclaimed, "Can't a day go by without anyone having to clamor for me like it's the end of the goddam world?!"

Skylar's expression turned from distress to worry. She faltered in her speech out of fear. "S-Sir, what w-we f-found was-"

"I don't give two shits about what you found!" shouted Jasper, who looked ready to explode, "I'm pretty sure it could've waited till-"

"SIR, WE FOUND THE STONE!" screamed Skylar, who looked like she was on the verge of tears.

All emotion and color was wiped off of Jasper's face in an instant. He took a deep breath in order to calm himself and said, calmly, "Where?"

Skylar, who had to take a few deep breaths herself, replied, "Hearthome City. A group of Trainers found it." She pointed to the video footage as she said this, which by now was on a loop and projected onto all of the surveillance monitors.

Jasper became transfixed on the stone as Skylar was, if not more. He looked especially shocked when one of the boys in the group, the one who was holding the egg, fainted, probably from its clearly emanating power. He eventually turned to the others and said, in his calmest voice yet, "That's it, that's all that we need." He began to make his way out of the room.

Skylar, who was clearly confused, began to follow him out and asked, "All that we need for what?"

Jasper turned to her and gave her a slight grin. "To launch the occupation, of course! I'm sending out the troops straightaway. Keep their electrical systems on standby. We may need to shut them down any minute."

* * *

When Ash woke from his unconsciousness he found himself on one of the sofas in the Hearthome City Pokemon Center. Surrounding him were Dawn, Brock, and a nurse, the three of them with intense looks of worry on their face. He immediately noticed that none of them had the egg, and he began to panic. "Where's the egg?!" he exclaimed, "What happened to the-"

"Ash, don't worry!" said Dawn, doing her best to calm him, "the nurses are just doing some tests, to try and identify it."

Ash remembered what had happened outside earlier. "W-what happened?" he asked, "I felt dizzy, and…."

Brock chimed in, "You collapsed from exhaustion. What with little sleep and even less of a breakfast, no wonder!"

"Whatever that egg's emanating only seems to have worsened it," said the nurse, "The problem is that Eggs don't normally give off energy like that, so that's why we want to have it identified right away for any genetic mutations.

Ash noticed a girl, about his age, staring at the egg from the rear of the Pokemon Center with intense concentration, but though nothing of it. "Well, what do you know so far?" he asked.

"Just that's this is not your normal Pokemon egg." She stood up. "It'd be best for you to stay the night. Let me get you some dinner." She walked away, probably to the cafeteria.

Ash turned to Dawn and Brock. "I didn't know I was out that long," he said, "what time is it?"

It was Brock that answered. "About 6 PM. You've been unconscious for nearly eight hours. You had us worried." Ash turned to the window and saw that it was pitch-black outside. Nighttime.

Ash turned his attention back to the egg. "So what're we gonna do about the egg? Should we let them keep it, or are we…"

"Or are we what?" asked Dawn, noticing that Ash had been suddenly transfixed on something. She and Brock turned and noticed a girl, the same one that Ash saw, in the back of the Pokemon Center, watching them. The girl, sensing that the trio had seen them, bolted out of the Pokemon Center and into the night.

The trainers were bothered by this. They had no idea who this girl was, but that she probably heard their conversation and probably knew something about the egg. They pushed that thought aside, however, and went back to talking about the egg. "We'll see what they say," said Dawn. "It's more than likely that they'll let us keep it once they're done. But I couldn't imagine what Pokemon would give off so much energy, even as an egg!"

Ash and Brock nodded in agreement, having not much else to say. They ate their dinner, spaghetti with meatballs, in silence. Between the silence, however, they knew that this egg, whatever it was, was gonna be a hell of a lot of trouble.

* * *

Laina didn't stop running until she was sure that those Trainers with the egg weren't following her. She panicked when she saw that they were on to her, so she ran out of the building. She had seen them with the egg earlier in the day, and followed them into the Pokemon Center, where she had been watching them all day. Once Laina had caught her breath, she dug her cell phone out of her pocket and dialed the number to Jasper's direct line.

Laina waited impatiently for the dial tone to go through, and was mildly relieved when she heard it. One of the Privates picked up the phone. "This is the Executive Office of-"he started, but Laina, far too tired and impatient for any formalities, interrupted him.

"GET JASPER ON THE LINE NOW!" she shouted. The Private, sensing the urgency of the situation, immediately dropped the phone and ran to get Jasper, who happened to be in a different room on the same floor.

Jasper had been running back and forth between multiple floors of the building all day, making the final preparations for the Sinnoh invasion. He hadn't taken any breaks all day, nor had he any lunch, so he was plenty irritated enough before the Private bothered him with the phone call. The Private, knowing how ornery Jasper could be when he was stressed, knew to mention first that it involved Laina.

"Laina's on the phone, apparently its urgent." said the Private.

"Apparently, my ass," mumbled Jasper, grabbing the phone from the Private. "What is it, Laina?"

"Jasper…sir…huff…. I found…them," said Laina, still trying to catch her breath, "the Trainers that had the egg. They…. gave it to someone else though. I couldn't find….out who, because they….they saw me."

Jasper was silent for a few seconds. "Where's your interrogation team, Laina? Are they with you? What about your mercenaries?"

Laina was puzzled, because she hadn't the slightest idea why she would need her interrogation team or her mercenaries when they hadn't even invaded yet. "I have a few of them with me. The rest are at the base back in the Western Capital."

Jasper was thinking this over. "Okay, you better listen up, because I'm only going to say this once. We're invading Sinnoh tomorrow. Everything is set, and we have everything we need. Where are you situated at now?

"I'm staying at an apartment building in town for the time being." replied Laina, "I'm on my way back there now."

"Turn around and go to the Pokemon Center," said Jasper, "I'm going to have Skylar shut down Sinnoh's power once you get there. When the lights go out, you're gonna sneak in there and get one of those Trainers to tell you where the egg went. Kidnap them and take them back to that apartment building if you have to, but we need to find out where that egg is. The power won't come back on until tomorrow, after we've begun the attack, so you'll need to be careful. Our main targets are the Algrump Tower, in Jubilife, and Hearthome. Algrump Tower will serve as the Southern Headquarters, with Jubilife obviously being the Northern capital of the Empire. We need Hearthome, too, because we need more than just one major city to be taken over. Are you getting all of this?"

Laina was trying to process all of this information at once. She wasn't especially keen on going back to the Pokemon Center, but she seemed to understand the main mission. "Yes, sir," she said, "I'll have a truck outside waiting to help me transport one of the trainers. I'm sure one is all I'm gonna need, right?"

Jasper was going to say that she should try for all three of them, but then he thought otherwise. "Yes, it'd be cumbersome to kidnap all of them. Go for one of them, two if possible."

Laina turned around and started running towards the Pokemon Center at full speed. "I'm on my way sir. I'll let you know once I get there." She ended the call, shoved the phone back into her pocket, and turned into a back alley, not wanting to be seen by anyone at this point.


	3. Chapter 3

_November 13_

Laina waited nervously outside of the Pokemon Center, peeking inside the window to see if she could spot the Trainers that had the egg. Fortunately, she had spotted them with their backs turned to the Entrance, so she could make a clean entrance without being spotted by them.

She assessed the layout of the main floor, wondering how she should go about with grabbing one of them, as well as which Trainer out of the three she could grab. Laina took several factors into consideration, including anyone that stood in between her and her targets. Laina eventually decided to go for the boy with the raven hair. He was sitting on the edge of a row of seats, which would make it that much easier to grab him. He didn't look like he would be able to put up much of a fight, and the girl next to him didn't look all that strong either, so that was a plus.

Laina, beginning to mentally brace herself for what was about to happen, dialed the number for Jasper's direct line on her cellphone. She was surprised to hear Jasper answer after only one ring.

"I kept the phone near me so I could answer it as soon as you got to the Pokemon Center," he explained. "Are you there yet?"

"Yeah, I'm just waiting on the power. Is Skylar all set?"

"Yeah, but there's something else," Jasper said, "She did some research and found that that particular Pokemon Center in Hearthome runs on some special foreign generator. She can't hack into it for some reason."

"So…what does that mean exactly?"

"It means that whatever you're gonna do in there, you have to do it pretty damn quick," said Jasper. "I'd put the estimation at ninety seconds, depending on how long it takes the nurses in there to get to that generator. It's not worth the extra effort to try and destroy it." He paused. "Its 6:32 now, and the power is set to blink out at 6:35. Be waiting outside the door, and make sure that truck is out there too." He hung up the phone, leaving Laina to get her head together.

She glanced at her watch. 6:33. She looked at the chrome Rocket truck, parked half a block away from the Pokemon Center. Sighing nervously, she began wringing her sweaty, shaky hands. A pair of night vision goggles, designed by Skylar for situations like this, was tucked under her armpit, concealed from the outside world.

She stole another look at her watch. 6:34. "_Oh shit_," she thought as she produced a Sleeping Syringe from her pocket, "_this is it. What's gonna happen if I mess up? What's gonna happen if the kid gets away, or… Ok, just calm down. I'm sure everything will go fine."_

Suddenly, she felt that something was wrong. She took yet another glance at her watch and saw that the time was 6:35. "_What the hell?"_ she thought, "_why haven't the lights gone out_?" She began to panic visibly. "_Maybe the whole operation was called off_," she thought. She began pacing back and forth, beads of sweat trickling down her face. She looked down at her watch again. 6:36. "_Maybe I should call Jasper again_," she thought, "_to see what's going on_."

She began to pull out her phone from her pocket, but at that moment complete and utter darkness surrounded her. She knew that the time had come and that her ninety seconds had begun. Amidst the panic that filled the darkened streets she stuffed the phone in her pocket, slipped the night vision goggles over her head and, with Sleeping Syringe in hand, quickly strode into the Pokemon Center.

* * *

Ash was, for the most part, wide awake and feeling much better after eating dinner. Pikachu, on the other hand, was fast asleep on his back. He looked over at Dawn and Brock, who were chatting away about breeding techniques. He thought about asking one of the nurses about the egg, but at the moment all of the lights in the Pokemon Center went out. He looked outside and saw that all of the lights were out outside as well.

Pikachu woke up in a daze, still clinging to Ash's back. Panic broke out in the Pokemon Center, and everyone was trying to feel around for a friend, or for a flashlight, or anything that would help them out.

"Brock, see if you can find your bag and pull out your reading light," said Ash, staying relatively calm. Dawn was scrambling around in her bag, which was in her lap, for something to act as a flashlight.

At that moment something felt terribly wrong. Pikachu was no longer on Ash's back, but Ash could tell that Pikachu hadn't climbed off willingly. It felt almost as if he was forcibly yanked from him. He heard a loud _thud_ on the wall to his left, and an audible cry of pain could be heard. Before he could turn to see if it was, he felt a stabbing pain in the back of his neck. He let out a gasp of pain, hardly audible over the chaos that was ensuing. He reached behind him and pulled from his neck a small syringe which, even in the dark, visibly contained a bright orange liquid that filled a quarter of the vial. He looked behind him, but couldn't see who or what had drugged him.

"Guys, something's wro-"Ash began, but a jabbing sensation in his gut knocked the wind out of him.

"Ash, what's going on?" shouted Dawn, but Ash couldn't answer her, for he was still keeled over. He got up and swung wildly into the air, making contact with someone's jaw. He felt another pain, this time in his upper leg, which knocked him down once more.

Ash tried to get up, but couldn't. He felt woozy, but not the same kind of woozy that he felt this morning. This time, it felt too contrived, too artificial. He felt himself being lifted up, but Ash knew it wasn't Dawn or Brock that was doing so. These hands felt too slender to be Brock's, too large to be Dawn's. Out of instinct, he swung madly into the air once more, but failed to make contact, for Ash had lost all hand-eye coordination, both from darkness and from wooziness.

Dawn and Brock were shouting hysterically for Ash, but he couldn't hear much anymore, either. He fell to the ground yet again, and knew this time that he would not be able to get up. He felt himself being lifted up by the same pair of hands, but couldn't offer any resistance. He felt himself being dragged out of the building.

"D-D-Daw…" he stammered, but the words wouldn't come out of his mouth. He felt another pair of hands tie his hands behind his back with rope, and immediately knew that whoever was doing this was in it for the egg. Ash tried to say something once more, but couldn't even make an audible syllable.

Ash was thrown onto some metal surface and let out a short moan, landing flat on his face. Blood began to trickle from his nose and into his mouth, and a burlap sack was placed over his head. He tried to get up in some futile attempt at escape, but he felt a foot ram into his bottom, forcing him to the ground as he blacked out.

* * *

Dawn was in hysterics, feeling around in the darkness for Ash. Brock, just as clueless as Dawn, was the first to realize that Pikachu was nowhere to be found either. "Pikachu!" he called, "Where are you?! Are you alright?!"

At that moment, the lights came back on in the Pokemon Center. Brock and Dawn were blinded for a brief moment by the light, but soon regained normal vision. They looked around them to see Pikachu, unmoving by the wall to their left. They scrambled over to him, fearing the worst. When they got to the pokemon, they were thankful to see that he was still breathing, but his breaths were broken and shallow. He had a large bruise on his back, and let out a low moan.

"WE NEED A NURSE!" Brock shouted, but he knew that he wouldn't get one in a timely manner, judging by the chaos that had yet to subside, both inside the Pokemon Center and outside. Then he remembered Ash. "ASH?! ASH, WHAT'S HAPPENED?!"

But Ash was gone.

* * *

_November 14_

Ash wasn't quite sure when he regained consciousness. He first recalled being dragged out of the truck and through a dark alley before blacking out once more. A few moments later, he felt himself being half-carried, half-pulled up a staircase. If he hadn't slammed his head so hard on those stairs, he would've stayed unconscious. The stairs, being as rough as they were, were more than enough to put him under once more.

From that point he regained his consciousness gradually, piece by piece. At first it was a mere state of self-awareness, where he felt as though he existed, but nothing beyond that. Then it all started coming back to him. He remembered the attack at the Pokemon Center and the moments before he blacked out, when he was dragged out of the building and away from Brock and Dawn. It was that memory that made him panic.

He regained full use of his senses then and used them to realize where he was. He was on his knees, with arms spread out and chained to a wall, in a simple, four wall room. In the room was a blinded window, a door, and himself. That was it. The blood from his nose had dried, leaving a caked maroon stain on Ash's upper lip.

Ash struggled against his bonds, endlessly tugging and pulling on the chains to no avail. Eventually he gave up, partly out of physical exhaustion and partly out of hopelessness. At that moment he heard two voices coming from outside the door, and he knew that these must be his captors. This was confirmed when their silhouettes walked in the door, suddenly silencing themselves as they closed the door behind them. They hadn't turned the lights on, so the three of them were in the darkness.

Ash began, "Who are you and what d-"when he felt a foot swing across his jaw, knocking out one of his teeth. He cried out in agony, but was soon hushed when he felt a pair of hands, almost certainly his captor's, jerk his face toward the window, which the other captor had opened the blinds to, as well as a decidedly sharp knife being pressed against his neck. The lights were still out, but by now it was daytime.

"Listen up you little shit," hissed one of the voices, "and listen well. You see what's out that window? The peaceful little city called Hearthome?" the voice, which belonged to a woman, terrified Ash. "This'll be ours tomorrow. It'll be wiped out, along with the rest of Sinnoh. Innocent lives will be lost, thousands of them. Unless," and at that point the lights in the apartment came on, "unless you give us the egg."

Ash turned to see that the young woman was the same one who he saw at the Pokemon Center earlier, the one that ran away. She and her partner, who stood in the background watching the ordeal silently, were both wearing a dull grey jumpsuit emblazoned with a bright red "R" on the chest. Team Rocket's insignia. He had dealt with them in Kanto, but why were they in Sinnoh?

"_No way in hell I'm gonna tell them anything," _he thought. His mouth filling with blood from the kick he received to his jaw, he took the opportunity to show his defiance by spitting it in the girl's direction. It landed on her boot, which satisfied Ash enough even though he knew it would only lead to more trouble.

And trouble it led to. The girl walked out of the room and emerged less than two seconds later with a pale metal bucket. She placed it on the floor directly in front of Ash, grabbed Ash by his hair, and shoved his head into the bucket.

Ash was caught off guard by the cool water that filled the bucket. Of all the torturing that he expected, water wasn't involved in any of those. He thrashed about madly, trying his best to worm his way back into the breathable air, but was unsuccessful. The water turned a dark red from Ash's gushing blood, and that made the water sting his eyes. He felt his lungs burning with an increasing intensity as he remained under the water. The seconds turned into minutes as Ash desperately sought an out from what appeared to be his death, but no such moment appeared, increasing his panic further.

All of a sudden the girl yanked Ash's head from the bucket, and he took in that graceful breath of fresh air, like a baby escaping from a mother's womb. He didn't have time to savor this, however, for the girl had grabbed Ash's head, still stinging from the pain, and brought it a mere inch away from her own.

"Ready to talk, Sweetums?" said the girl in a tauntingly sweet voice.

Ash didn't have to think about that question at all. "Go to hell!" he immediately shouted. This infuriated the girl further as he received another kick, this time to the gut, and his head was forced into the bucket once more.

Ash had a thought at this point. _These guys won't stop until I tell them something_, he thought as he thrashed about once more in the water that continually threatened to asphyxiate him at any moment, _so why should I keep holding back_? As his head was pulled from the bucket once more, he opened his mouth to begin talking, but then a rushing force overtook his body.

The Aura.

Ash hadn't experienced the Aura since he was in Hoenn, and he thought that he never would experience it again. The Aura was essentially Ash's psychic vision, meaning that when he experienced the Aura he had access to both visions from the past and the future. But why now?

His first vision was of a group of dull grey fighter jets, blasting their way over a deep blue ocean. He wasn't able to see where the jets were going; just that wherever they were going, they wanted to get there fast. On the fins of each jet was the same red "R" that was emblazoned on the jumpsuit of Ash's captors. They were moving at an almost supersonic speed, and there didn't appear to be any pilots; most likely they were being remotely controlled.

This struck Ash, because if they were being remotely controlled it meant one of two things; that Team Rocket was based in Sinnoh, which seemed more likely, or that Team Rocket had revived itself in some other region, which seemed less likely but possible nonetheless. But he had no way of knowing for sure.

Almost on cue, however, the image seemed to rotate a good 180 degrees or so, almost as if it were a movie. With this rotation came the revelation that made Ash reel: in the distance was the figure of Mt. Coronet, and the fighter jets were flying directly towards it. Ash realized this could only mean that Team Rocket planned on attacking Sinnoh, and it was going to happen soon. Why else would fighter jets armed to the brim with weapons be flying at full speed towards them?

Ash was confused. This obviously couldn't be taking place in the past. Was this going to happen in the future? And if it did, would it be as a result of what he said to his captors?

Before his question could be answered, the scene flashed from the skies to the streets. Dawn and Brock were jogging along the sidewalk, so he knew that he must be seeing what was Hearthome City, which was still under the blackout. They both had concerned looks on their faces. Were they looking for him? Judging by the calmness of everyone surrounding them, they must be. They were jogging away from the Pokemon Center, which was still the only building in the city with any power. In Dawn's hand was a black wallet. But she didn't own a black wallet. Why would she be carrying it? Then he saw on the side of the wallet was that bright red "R", the one that belonged to Team Rocket.

All of this added up to one thing; Dawn and Brock knew. They knew where he was, they knew what was going on, and they were rushing toward him to help. All of a sudden, the roar of a fighter jet could be heard, and Dawn and Brock turned behind them to see a circle of fighter jets surrounding the city. Missiles were being shot from several of them, finding a target in buildings and roads alike. One of them landed in the very building that they were standing in front of, and they made a mad dash for the side alley to their left in order to avoid the falling debris. They began running toward their destination until they saw a truck – again labeled with Team Rocket's "R" – whiz past them on the road. They glanced at it, then made a dash for it when they saw what was in the truck, whose back door was flapping open.

Before Ash could see what was in the truck that they wanted so badly, he felt a violent electric jolt violently spur him from his Aura. He found himself in the same "interrogation" room in the same situation, one of the ends of a Magnemite thrust against his neck. But this time, what with the information he now had, the game had changed. He knew what was coming, and he knew that there was no way to avoid it. But what he didn't know was whether he would make it out of the situation alive.

But with that he knew that he had the power to make it so that he would come out alive. All he had to do was cheat Team Rocket out of the egg.

"C'mon honey, you gotta talk some time!" that was the woman, who retained her evil, yet sweet tone as she tried to coax Ash into talking.

Ash stared her down with an evil eye. "Alright, fine," said Ash, feigning defeat. "The egg," he let out a few short coughs, "It's hidden…in Mt. Coronet. It's at coordinates 52.8609 N, 45.1722 W. There's a safe… the combo's…12….30…..16." He looked visibly shaken, but inside he was hoping that his captors would accept this lie. They seemed satisfied with his answer, but said nothing. Instead they walked out, leaving Ash on his own in the room.

* * *

Laina reached for her cell phone to call Jasper for advice. Interrogation with this kid was going nowhere, and she knew that he lied to her about the egg. She walked out of the room and dug in her pocket in search for her phone when she realized that her wallet was gone. She frantically searched in all of her pockets before realizing that she must have lost it in the scuffle back at the Pokemon Center. After letting out a hushed rant filled with obscenities, she calmed down and dialed the direct line to Jasper.

He answered almost immediately. "What did you find out from the kid? Did he tell you where the egg was?"

Laina sighed. "No, we can't get him to break. We've tried everything. He fed us information though, but I know for a fact that that's false based on the surveillance footage."

Jasper grew angry. "Dammit, Laina, we need to get that information now! I need you to get him to Jubilife. We have more….effective methods of getting the truth out of him there than in that apartment you're in."

Laina was exasperated. She had been asked to do a lot in the past day. "Yes sir. Anything else?"

"You need to be careful and fast. Like, really fast." Said Jasper.

Laina was confused. "Why?" she asked.

"Because," said Jasper, "the invasion has begun."


	4. Chapter 4

_November 13_

Dawn and Brock had been talking with the Police for the past three hours, telling them everything they knew about what had happened to Ash. It took so long partly because the officers hassled as much information as they could from them, and partly because Dawn had a hard time staying calm long enough to give them information.

After they had given the officers as much information as they could, the officers said, "Welp, there's not much information to work with, but we'll do the best we can to find your friend. Meanwhile, given the condition of the electrical grid we suggest you remain in the Pokemon Center until tomorrow, when it's brighter out. Also, since you're involved in this case we ask that you remain in the city until we recover your friend. Is this understood?"

Dawn and Brock both nodded, neither of them up for talking anymore. All they wanted was to get some rest and start looking for Ash at the crack of dawn. As the officers walked away to tend to other affairs, they gave each other looks of defeat as they settled in for bed.

They said nothing as the nurses handed out the blankets to everyone and began to dim the lights for the night. Dawn and Brock lay on parallel sofas divided by a coffee table, which also had two trainers lying on it.

The struggle to find sleep was immense. They both had a million thoughts racing through their heads, whether it was about Ash or the egg or themselves, but mostly they concentrated on Ash. They couldn't imagine where he was, who he was with, or what happened to him. Every possible scenario ran through their minds, and none of them ended too well.

For Dawn, the thoughts were too much. "Brock?" she said.

It took a few seconds for Brock to answer. "Whuzzat?" he replied groggily.

She sighed. "What if we don't find him?" Dawn asked, "What if we're too late and something-"

"Dawn, I'm sure that everything's gonna be okay. I'm sure Ash is out there-"

"He could be hurt, or dead, or…."

"How 'bout ya keep it quiet, we're trying to sleep here!" shouted a trainer from the other end of the room.

Brock answered back, "At least we're not shouting like you!"

That kept the trainer quiet. Brock turned back to Dawn. "Try not to worry and get some sleep. We have a long day tomorrow."

Dawn said nothing else to Brock as she turned to face the ceiling, focusing on the slowly revolving ceiling fan as she tried to fall asleep. After ten minutes or so she glanced at her watch. 10:57 PM. _God, this is gonna be a long night_, she thought. She continued to stare at the ceiling almost as if she were counting sheep, but instead she was counting each revolution of one of the blades on the fan.

She lost count at eight hundred revolutions and decided it was time to turn in for the night. All she heard now was the sound of her own breathing, using it as a metronome of sorts to lull her to sleep. Sure enough, her "metronome" made her drowsy, but not enough to put her under. She glanced at her watch again; 11:27 PM.

"_Dammit Dawn, try harder_!" she thought to herself. She plugged her ears using her pillow and, after a little bit more struggling, finally dozed off.

* * *

The next day was, just as Brock had promised, long. It was only mid-afternoon, and already the two were exhausted from running around town, trying to find any trace of Ash. It was also just as worrisome, because so far their search had turned up unsuccessful.

But something seemed odd; throughout the whole day Dawn felt weightless, almost as if she were floating. It couldn't have been any adverse effect from the egg, because the egg was still undergoing tests back at the Pokémon Center. But what could it be?

Brock looked at his watch. "It's nearly 2:00. Let's go grab something quick to eat for lunch and then get back to work." He paused. "Here, we can take this alleyway over to the next street." Turning into the alleyway, they saw a sight that made their eyes go wide, their mouths hang open, their stomachs sick. Brock turned away, vomiting out of disgust as he held back tears. For in the center of the alleyway was Ash's mangled body, bloody and twisted and…

* * *

_November 14_

Dawn woke up in a cold sweat, finding herself back on the sofa in the Pokemon Center. When she realized that she did not, in fact, find Ash dead and simply had a nightmare, she sighed in relied, but was still a bit shaken up. She looked at her watch; 2:41 AM. She was still breathing deeply, trying to mentally digest the thought of Ash being murdered and dumped in an alley.

She turned to Brock, who lay sleeping with his mouth half open, leaving Dawn on her own to fall asleep. At first she tried yet again to count the revolutions on the ceiling fan above her before realizing that this would prove to be futile. She went back to her breathing metronome, falling asleep once more.

* * *

Contrary to the night before, the next morning Dawn and Brock were chatting away over a breakfast of bacon, eggs, and orange juice. They talked about where they should start looking for Ash, as well as possible suspects. But what they didn't focus on was what was happening to Ash; Dawn, heeding Brock's advice from the night before, Dawn decided that bothering herself with the question any further seemed pointless.

Dawn noticed something sticking out of Brock's sofa, and she reached for it. She pulled out from under the sofa a black wallet emblazoned with a large red "R". Out of instinct, she opened the wallet for any sign of identification. Inside was a picture of a young woman on a card labeled ROCKET ID. She flipped the card over and read:

LAINA WOODWRIGHT, AGE 19

POSITION: HEAD OF SECRET OPS

SECTOR: WESTERN

"Brock, look at this!" Dawn said. She handed the card to Brock, who eyed it suspiciously.

"This woman could've dropped this thing weeks ago," Brock said, "there's no proof that this woman kidnapped Ash, even if she is from Team Rocket. See if there's anything else in the wallet." He handed the wallet back to Dawn. She looked in every pocket, finding nothing but a few small amounts of cash and a slip of paper. On that slip, she saw, was the Hearthome Apartment Complex's logo. Flipping to the back side, she read:

TEMPORARY RESIDENCE CARD

LEASEE: LAINA WOODWRIGHT

ROOM: 1907

LEASED FROM: November 13th – November 15th

"_Today's the fourteenth,"_ she realized. "_That means that Laina, if she has Ash..._"

"We gotta go, now!" Dawn exclaimed. The two of them started packing their bags, not bothering to finish breakfast. When both she and Brock were done, they bolted out the door of the Pokemon Center and made a hard left toward the Hearthome Apartment Complex.

They sprinted the first two blocks, but then Brock decided to keep a steady jog, so as to conserve wind, and Dawn and Pikachu followed suit. When they were in sight of the apartment building, they slowed to a crawl, partly out of nervousness and partly out of anticipation.

"What're we gonna do, once we get in there?" Dawn asked.

"I dunno. I guess we'll just have to-"

The roar of what appeared to be a fighter jet cut them off as it flew over them, and they turned to see a circle of the same fighter jets surrounding the city. Then, in a great burst of firepower, missiles were fired from each and every one of them, all of them darting off in different directions.

Out of panic, Dawn and Brock ran for the side alley for cover. A missile hit the building that they were standing in front of, the resulting debris nearly crushing them in the process.

"What the hell is this?"

"I don't know, but we have to get to the complex!" Brock shouted back.

Dawn looked at him maniacally. "Are you crazy?!" she shouted back, "we'll get killed!"

"I don't care! We have to find Ash!" Brock shouted. He burst from the alley and toward the apartment complex. Dawn, despite her fear, willed herself to run after him amidst the missile fire, which was also joined by gunfire from the jets. Windows shattered all around them, people fell to the ground, and entire buildings started to fall.

They kept running until a dull grey truck turned a corner nearly mowed them over. Brock cursed at the truck, but he noticed two things that stopped him cold. The first was that the truck was labeled with the same "R" that was on Laina's wallet. Secondly, he saw that the back door of the truck was flapping open, and through the open door he saw Ash, tied up and gagged in the back of the truck, letting out muffled screams.

"There he is!" Brock shouted, breaking into a sprint towards the truck. Dawn followed suit before she realized that the truck was going much faster than she and Brock were. But then she had an idea that very likely saved Ash's life, yet endangered it at the same time. She grabbed Mamoswine's Pokeball and sent him out. Mamoswine was surprised by the amount of action around him, but he stood his ground.

"Mamoswine, use Ice Shard on that truck!" Dawn shouted.

Mamoswine obeyed and launched three giant shards of Ice at the truck, finding targets in two of the tires as well as clipping the side. The truck flipped over multiple times, screeching to a halt upside down. Dawn and Brock made a mad dash toward the truck while avoiding the gunfire and debris that continued to pelt the city.

"I'll help Ash, you deal with the drivers!" Dawn shouted to Brock when they reached the truck. Brock flung open the driver's door to see that both the driver and passenger, fat men who appeared to be in their late fifties, were killed by the impact of the crash. There must have been a third passenger, though, for there was a woman's handbag in between them. She might have run from the scene, but that wasn't the important issue, Brock thought. He ran back to the rear of the truck to see Dawn helping Ash out of the rope that bound his hands, Ash squinting in pain.

"I think I broke a few of my fingers when the truck flipped over," Ash explained once Dawn removed the gag from his mouth, "but other than that I'm alright."

"At least you weren't killed!" said Dawn.

Brock carefully examined is left hand, which had the broken fingers. "This looks pretty bad," Brock said, "we should get you back to the Pokemon Center."

"No, there's no time for that. This whole region's about to go to shit," said Ash, frantically. "We have to loot whatever supplies we can and go into hiding."

"But what about the egg?" he asked.

Ash had forgotten about the egg completely. "OK, Brock, you go back to the Pokemon Center and get the egg," Ash said, "You know the layout of the Center best. Dawn and I are going to the PokeMart to loot food and supplies. Brock, once you're done, head for the woods and make sure no one's followed you. Hide in a tree until we come for you, understand?"

Brock nodded and ran toward the Pokemon Center. Dawn, Ash, and Pikachu, meanwhile, started running madly for the PokeMart, which lay not that far in the distance; right next to the apartment complex, in fact.


	5. Chapter 5

_November 14_

Laina had seated herself uncomfortably between two of her men on the truck, the one on the left driving amidst the missile fire while the one on the right was fiddling with his PokeGear. A faint humming noise bothered her, but she couldn't identify it. It seemed to grow louder with intensity, and she realized it was coming from that kid in the back. She began to yell for him to quiet down, but from the corner of her eye she saw something in the rearview mirror that stopped her cold.

She saw the girl, the same one that she saw in the Pokemon Center the day before, running after her truck, with her other friend. Trailing behind her was a furious Mamoswine. The girl was pointing at something, and it took Laina a second or two to realize what was about to happen.

She had only a split second to brace herself before the shards of ice made impact with the truck. The truck began to flip over, and her men suddenly looked bewildered. The three of them were tossed and turned as the truck continued to flip over and over on no end. When the truck finally stopped upside down, Laina felt dazed and disoriented. She could taste a pool of blood in her mouth, and she might have lost a tooth in the process as well.

Laina opened her mouth to ask if her comrades were okay when she head the girl, the one who had wrecked her truck, shout, "I'll help Ash, you deal with the drivers!"

The thought of Laina being confronted with that guy put her on edge, and she managed to climb under the seat of the truck and hid from him, leaving her two men to fend for themselves as injured as they were. She heard the driver's door being swung open, and then quickly swung closed again. Laina was certain that her men had managed to scare him off, but when she emerged from her hiding spot she was horrified to see that both of her men were dead, killed by the impact of the crash.

She didn't dare scream, in case her attackers were still nearby. She heard voices, though, and decided to listen in.

"-loot whatever supplies we can and go into hiding." That sounded like the kid she had kidnapped last night. She grinned at her sudden insight of his plans, for she'd be able to track him down much easier later.

"But what about the egg?" This voice sounded slightly deeper, and must have belonged to the bigger kid.

"OK, Brock, you go back to the Pokemon Center and get the egg," he said, "You know the layout of the Center best. Dawn and I are going to the PokeMart to loot food and supplies. Brock, once you're done, head for the woods and make sure no one's followed you. Hide in a tree until we come for you, understand?"

Laina had to struggle to contain her excitement. Not only did she know where the egg was located, but she also had names of his two companions, and their planned locations as well!

When she heard their footsteps moving away from the truck, she waited a few moments, risking death by missile fire, before calling Jasper once more. When he picked up the phone, he already seemed agitated. "Laina, I swear if you screwed up again I'm-"

"No, there's good news," interrupted Laina, "but there's some bad news too." She was very worried that Jasper would start screaming in anger, but he only let out one audible sigh of exasperation.

"Alright, let's hear it," Jasper sighed.

She took a breath. "They got away. The kid and his friends, I mean. They killed two of my men and wrecked our truck."

Jasper had slammed his phone on the table and was having a very audible fit that went on for a full minute before continuing his call. "What's the good news?"

Laina was nervous because she was unsure whether her news would be good enough to put Jasper in a good enough mood, especially when he seemed so stressed over the invasion. "We, er, I managed to get crucial information from them," she said. "I have names, locations, even where they plan on going."

Jasper said nothing at first, which Laina cautiously took to be a good sign. He finally said, "OK, Listen to me." Laina groaned inside, because Jasper was sending her on another mission, and a tedious one at that. "The initial attack appears to have been successful, and we're sending in ground forces as we speak. I'm flying into Hearthome now, and I need you to meet me at the city hall. That's where we make ourselves known."

"But what about the trainers with the egg?" asked Laina, "what're we gonna do about them?"

"Once we have everything in place, which won't be too long," said Jasper, "we'll have all ground forces on the lookout for them. They'll be wanted fugitives under accordance of the Rocket Empire, and there will be a bounty on their heads. 50,000 dollars, Dead or Alive."

"What good are they dead?" asked Laina, confused by Jasper's line of thinking, "won't we want them alive to get the egg from them?"

"I initially thought the same thing too," said Jasper, "but if we get them dead, that only makes it that much easier to get the egg."

"Anything else?" she asked.

"Oh, yeah, "said Jasper, "you're the new Executive Head of Sinnoh, AKA the Northern Sector. I'll be focusing my efforts on this egg, so I need you to be Executive Head."

"HELL NO!" objected Laina. "I'm just a good a leader as a Psyduck is a psychologist."

"You're not questioning my authority, are you now?" said Jasper in a leering voice.

"No, sir." Said Laina. It was Jasper who had made Laina Head of Secret Ops in the Western Sector in the first place. "I'll meet you at the City Hall."

"Don't disappoint me," Jasper said, and he clicked off the phone. Laina climbed out from the truck when she realized that she had no idea where the City Hall was. She couldn't exactly ask anyone, either, on account of the fact that the majority of Hearthome was either dead or wounded. She had left her handbag in the truck, so she didn't have her PokeGear or anything else with her, only her own sense of direction, or lack thereof. Laina had no choice but to wander the streets and hope that she would find the city hall in a timely manner.

She kept a steady jog, intimidating those that were left on the streets. Some were running, some were walking, but most simply sat down or lay dead. She didn't feel like picking a fight with anyone; all she wanted and needed was to find the City Hall. The ground forces started patrolling the streets, occasionally firing their guns at the runners. They knew better than to shoot at Laina, however, for she was wearing her uniform that identified her as a Rocket Head.

After fifteen minutes Laina ended up back at the truck that she was in, realizing that she had walked in a circle. "_Shit", _thought Laina, _Jasper's really gonna have my ass on this one._ She was also the only Rocket on this particular street, so she couldn't stop to ask any of them for directions. This also meant that the runners could easily flee the city without any interference from Laina; all she had on her was her hunting knife, which she had used on that kid last night.

Suddenly she was knocked to the ground from behind and fell flat on her face, the blood beginning to rush once again from her mouth. Laina looked up to see the girl who disabled her truck running away (_Dawn's her name, _thought Laina), with the kid that Laina had kidnapped running directly next to her, each of them holding large, white garbage bags. Laina could already tell that they ran too fast for her to catch up.

She wasn't about to let them get away, so she took out her knife and, after making a quick aim for the boy, threw the knife, hoping it would land in his back. As if the kid heard her every move, he turned his head back to see the knife twirling in the air towards them. The pair of trainers turned into the alley that was to their left, throwing off the knife's trajectory.

Laina swore under her breath, but was slightly reassured when she saw the knife stick itself in Dawn's forearm. She let out a shriek of pain as she and the boy disappeared into the alley.

Laina knew somehow that, even with Dawn now disabled, she wouldn't be able to catch up to them in time. The woods that surrounded the city lay not far off in the distance, and by now Dawn and her little boyfriend would already be almost there. She turned in the other direction, trying to find anything that would help her find the City Hall.

* * *

After running a mile and a half in a matter of minutes, all while dodging missile fire and debris form the damaged buildings, Brock felt ready to collapse. He was plenty scared, too; one missile would have obliterated Brock's head, had he not dived out of the way at the very last second. Nevertheless, he knew he had to do one thing and one thing only; find the egg and get the hell out of Hearthome.

He burst through the doors of the Pokemon Center and immediately saw that the chaos inside was almost equal to the chaos outside. People cried, the Pokemon looked distraught and confused, and the nurses were running everywhere, tending to whoever needed help, which was just about everyone. Brock wanted so badly to help, but he knew that, for once, he had to put himself in front of others. He ran to the back of the building, where the basement was located, along with the storage and testing rooms.

The sight of the basement made him nervous. The basement wasn't really a basement; it appeared to more of a maze of corridors and rooms, all of them with fancy medical equipment and medicine. Besides that, it was dark and musty, the lights that hung from the ceiling giving off a dim light. He had no idea which room the egg would be in; none of the other Pokemon centers he had been to were nearly as extensive and complicated in layout as this one. He had no choice but to quickly check every single room and hope that the room that held the egg was nearby.

He started with the first corridor to his left. He checked the first room to his right, which only held linens. The next room over held the same thing. Sure enough, after Brock had checked every room in that corridor he found nothing but sheets, blankets, pillows, towels, and several other toiletries and fabrics.

Brock quickly advanced into the first room in the next corridor, in which Brock found several medicines, medicines that were far more advanced than the run-of-the-mill Potion. "_Arceus__ knows what's going on outside," _thought Brock, "_or how long this will last. Maybe I should take some medicine with me…"_

After a few seconds of deep thinking, he gave in and threw as many boxes of medicine as he could into his backpack, reading the labels only to ensure that he would have enough for both the Pokemon as well as for Ash, Dawn, and himself. After he had taken as much as he thought he would need, he moved on to the next room, which housed several first aid kits. He didn't have to think about those; he squeezed two of them into his backpack and went to the next room, which, along with all of the other rooms in that corridor, was filled with junk and gadgets that Brock wouldn't need.

He went to the next corridor, where he was immediately met by a large door with a sign above it that read, "TESTING LABORATORY". Brock knew that the egg must be in here, and he barged his way into the room.

Upon entering he found that it was much lighter in this room than in the dark, dreary corridors. This room, much to Brock's chagrin, held several dozens of eggs, all hooked up to identical machines.

"Well, shit," mumbled Brock, reeling at the prospect of having to go through all the machines to find his one egg. He sighed in reluctance as he began his scourging of the machines.

He didn't search long, however, for on the very first machine he went up to was the same egg that they had brought in just yesterday. He grinned in satisfaction as he unhooked it from the machine. He was about to walk away with it, but from the other end of the machine he noticed a slip of paper sticking out. He grabbed it and read it out loud to himself:

MACHINE IDENTIFICATOR #001

TEST #00008278

TEST RESULTS: INCONCLUSIVE

POKEMON IDENTIFICATION: UNKNOWN

The page ended there. Brock read over it three times, digesting the information carefully. He cursed under his breath as he stuffed the sheet of paper in his pocket and ran out of the room.

As he was working his way through the maze that was the basement he was startled by gunshots that sounded like they came from the main lobby. Brock ducked, fearing that the guns were fired in the basement, then cautiously got back up when he decided they weren't. Brock was now lost in the "maze", and had no idea where any emergency exit was, since the stairs to the main lobby no longer seemed safe.

After several minutes of pacing through the basement, he ended up back in the linen corridor. From here he deduced that the emergency exit would be on the opposite side of the basement. Before going in that direction, however, he thought up the idea of grabbing a blanket from one of the rooms to carry the egg in. After doing so, he walked in the opposite direction of the door until he found the emergency exit conveniently located across from the main stairwell.

Brock gripped the door handle and prepared to fling the door open to the outside, but gunshots from the other end of the door made him stop. He didn't know who was firing the gun, or how many people were using the guns, but Brock didn't want to risk going out there. He began to turn around, but another round of gunshots, this time from inside the basement, made Brock change his mind in a heartbeat. He burst through the emergency exit, the bright light from the morning sun blinding him briefly. Brock, still partially blinded from the sun, ran in a random direction, figuring that, since the city was surrounded by a forest, he would reach it eventually.

When he fully regained his sight, he saw that the forest lay only a half a mile away. Ash's voice rang in Brock's head: _"Brock, once you're done, head for the woods and make sure no one's followed you. Hide in a tree until we come for you….." _Brock ran even faster towards the forest, stopping to help no one or grab anything. His adrenaline was pumping now; he heard nothing and felt nothing, the only thing standing between him and Death being the half-mile that he was running.

The gunshots were ringing once more once he had gotten halfway to the forest. The sheer possibility of dying, right here, right now, terrified Brock to no end, and he pumped his legs even harder. A bullet hole appeared less than a foot in front of Brock, and he started weaving through the street, so as to make it harder for the gunmen, whoever they were, to aim at him and land a successful shot.

When he was but a block away from the forest, he was panting so heavily from the sprint he felt like coughing up blood and falling to the ground. The only thing that kept him from doing exactly that was the sound of the gunshots behind him, which continuously threatened to end him at any moment. "_Come on, Brock", _he thought, "_you're almost there! Just a little more…yes! You made"-_

Just as he had stepped foot into the forest and out of the city, he felt a stabbing pain shoot through his left ear, a bullet having pierced through the rear of it. Brock stumbled and fell, nearly crushing the egg in the process. He was going to get up and keep running, but just before he did he had the bright idea to play dead behind the cover that the forest provided.

"He's dead!" shouted someone, presumably one of the gunmen, "let's move on!"

_"Idiots," _thought Brock, a sly grin plastered on his face. The gunfire ceased, but Brock didn't risk moving from his hiding spot yet. He waited a good twenty minutes or so, not moving an inch, before bolting from his hiding spot and into the welcoming arms of the surrounding forest, leaving Hearthome City behind him.

Brock trekked on until the city was completely out of his sights before picking a tree to hide in. He was cupping his bloody, mangled ear in order to quell the pain from the gunshot wound, but to no avail. When Brock finally found a tree that was large enough to conceal him, a bloodstain the size of a fully enlarged Pokeball had appeared on the shoulder of his shirt. He looked up at the tree, which towered fifty feet above him, and paused. "_How will Ash and Dawn find me if I'm not visible in this tree?"_ thought Brock.

Suddenly, he had an idea. Using his shirt, still moist with his blood, he smeared a dark, red "B", for Brock, on the base of the tree. He had to borrow some blood from his ear, which caused excruciating pain in that area. Eventually, however, Brock had come up with a legible, yet dark "B".

"_Hopefully they'll know what this means." _Brock thought. He climbed the tree until he was completely concealed by its branches. Once he was hidden, he laid himself on a wide branch and took out his first aid kit, with the hopes of finding something that would stop the bleeding in his ear. Brock had to dig through the kit for a few minutes before eventually finding a roll of gauze bandages wedged in a corner.

_"Bingo,"_ he thought as he unrolled the bandages, pulled out a pocket mirror from the kit, and began to cover his wound.

The pain from his ear immediately intensified twenty-fold, Brock barely managing to contain his screams. It felt as if he were being shot over and over again in the same spot.

"Shit!" he hissed, nearly dropping the bandages in the process. He paused, wondering how we would be able to apply the bandage without passing out from the pain. He rummaged through the kit in search of any sort of painkiller, but came up with nothing. Then his mind jumped to the boxes of medicines that he had looted earlier. He sorted through all of those, eventually coming up with a small pox of painkillers.

Brock fumbled with the box, nearly crushing one of the pills as he punched it out of the metallic foil packaging. He swallowed one of the pills, and then sat for fifteen minutes through the pain before it was finally alleviated.

"_Let's try this again,"_ thought Brock, almost unwilling to risk the bandages again. Eventually, he willed himself to wrap the bandages around his ear once more.

The feeling was sensational. Better yet, it was the lack of feeling that was sensational, for his ear was causing Brock no pain, much to his delight. He let out a relieved sigh as he continued to wrap the bandages around his wound. Once he was finished, he admired his handiwork in the mirror. He put away the first aid kit and the box of painkillers, dug out some food from his backpack, and, with egg in hand, began to wait.


	6. Chapter 6

_November 14_

Ash was thinking about the situation as he, Dawn, and Pikachu ran to the PokeMart while weaving through missile fire and debris. He thought especially of what the woman from Team Rocket had revealed to him. Her terrifyingly calm voice haunted him, even after she was gone; _This'll be ours tomorrow. It'll be wiped out, along with the rest of Sinnoh. Innocent lives will be lost, thousands of them. Unless you give up the egg. _He assumed that, since he never gave up possession of the egg, that she would hold true to her word and overthrow the region.

But what about themselves? How would they survive after they went into hiding with the egg when they would be hunted by Team Rocket? Ash had resolved then to grab anything and everything he could before making haste for the forest outside of the city.

Ash glanced over at Dawn once they had entered the PokeMart. They only ran about four blocks, but she was still panting from exhaustion. When they were travelling, Ash and Brock would often have to slow down for her to catch her breath. She wasn't an asthmatic, she would insist, she just had naturally smaller lungs.

Ash gazed at the PokeMart, which, for the most part, was void of people, save for a few lunatics who were taking everything they could off of the shelves. Well, that's what he and Dawn were here to do, so maybe "lunatics" wasn't the right word. They were more like pessimists, Ash thought, but smart ones at that.

He spotted a box of white garbage bags, lying open near his feet. He reached for the box and found that there were four bags left in the box. He took two and handed the rest to Dawn. "Take these and fill them with as much food as you can," he said to her. "Be sure to get enough for the Pokemon and for us. Meet me at the front of the store in ten minutes. If something happens, get the hell out of here, head for the forest and we'll meet up later. Got it?"

Dawn nodded. "Where are you gonna go?" she asked.

"I'm going to loot some supplies," Ash replied. "I don't know how long this attack is going to last, but we need to assume the worst."

"Be careful," Dawn said as she ran to the aisles of food. Ash and Pikachu ran in the other direction, where the aisles of supplies were. When he got to the aisles, he only then realized how vast they seemed, the aisles lined with just about anything a trainer could need. Ash didn't know where to start.

Ash tried to think of what they already had, but then figured that, since this was their last chance they would get to grab supplies, that he should move quickly but efficiently, taking only what was absolutely needed. He started with the batteries, where he shoved all kinds of batteries into his first garbage bag. It felt awkward having to hold the other garbage bag while holding the first, so he reached for his Pokemon to help him fill the other one at the same time.

It was then that he realized the pouch in which he kept his Pokemon was gone. Suddenly frantic, he frantically checked all of his pockets, finding his pouch in none of them. That bitch from Team Rocket must have taken them when he was out cold! Ash had lost all of his Pokemon, except for his Pikachu, who stood there in defeat alongside him.

Ash stood still for a full moment, the reality of the situation now starting to sink in. Team Rocket had taken his Pokemon. Who knew if he'd ever see them again? No reason to think Brock was alive, either. And what was to count them out from death, either? He could be flat-out dead by the end of the day. So could Pikachu, and Brock. And Dawn.

He couldn't let that happen. He wouldn't.

He broke out of his stupor and went back to stuffing his garbage bag with supplies faster than he had before, wanting nothing but to stock up and go. Flashlights, matches, hand warmers, wood axes, anything he thought he might need he shoved into his garbage bag without a second thought. He even splurged a little, throwing in some new plastic water bottles and even a transistor radio, even though he had just bought one a few months prior.

Ash realized that, with all of this extra stuff, he would need a new backpack or two. He spotted two new backpacks hanging neatly on the wall and threw them over his shoulder. His first garbage bag was now full, so he laid that down on the ground and began to fill his second one. He paid a little more attention now as to what he actually needed. He tossed a portable fire pit ring in first, along with some new winter jackets, since winter was coming. Pikachu was helping out, too; he grabbed supplies from the bottom shelves while Ash focused on the higher shelves.

He reached for the pocketknives when a set of hunting knives from across the aisle had caught his eye. He fingered their sleek, blood red handles, gazing upon them as if he were a child in a candy shop. These were knives designed for no less than hunting, which usually led to killing. Animals, mostly, but would Ash ever need to use them on a human? Maybe, he decided. He threw three of them in his bag, and he took a fourth one, which he kept in his hand, should something go wrong before they left the city.

He couldn't think of anything else he needed, so he simply threw in anything that looked like it could be of use. _A waistbelt? Might be useful,_ thought Ash. He threw three into his bag. _Bug Spray? Definitely._ He took several bottles. _Rope?_ _Why not!_ He grabbed some off of the shelves, but before he could throw them in he heard several gunshots ring out from the front of the store.

Ash ran for his first garbage bag, which he had thrown a few yards from him down the aisle. Pikachu, visibly frightened by the gunshots, jumped on Ash's shoulder and hid behind his neck in fear. Ash grabbed the bag and ran for the rear of the aisle when a Team Rocket grunt, in his dull grey jumpsuit, appeared right in front of him. Out of nothing but pure fear of death, Ash rammed his knife into the grunts neck, sending a volcano of blood spewing onto Ash and the grunt.

The grunt, eyes wide with shock, fell in his own pool of blood. He looked up at Ash as if to say, _Why?_ before lowering his head in death, the same expression of shock forever plastered on his face. Ash looked on aghast, horrified at what he had just done. A few short moments ago he was worried about someone taking his life thoughtlessly, and now he had done the very same thing. But wasn't it to save his own life? Didn't that make it….alright?

Before he could answer, more gunshots rang out from the other end of the store, springing Ash back into action. Not bothering to retrieve his knife from the grunt's neck, he ran for the rear of the store, where there was likely an exit into a back alley. He could only hope that Dawn had thought of the same thing.

Thankfully, she and Ash had reached the back exit at about the same time. She was horrified to see Ash covered in blood. "Shit!" she exclaimed, "did they-" she let the question hang.

"No," Ash breathed, as he grasped the handle of the back exit door, "I did."

She said nothing as they flew out the door and down the back alley, clumsily running with their garbage bags swinging around in the air. Ash was frightened when he heard more guns being fired outside, as it would make it that much harder to leave. _At least there aren't any more missiles,_ he thought. He, Dawn, and Pikachu kept running, fearing that the gunmen may have been behind them, and they made a sharp left out of the alley and into the city streets.

As soon as they were on the city streets Ash ran full force into someone, knocking the two of them down and making him drop one of his garbage bags. He didn't stop to help the bystander out, or even to apologize; he grabbed his bag and kept running without saying a word, only catching a glimpse of her as he ran off. He saw that the forest, the almighty solitude, lay at the end of a good mile of chaos and death.

While they were running, he was thinking about how Dawn might not be able to run the mile or so to the forest when he realized something; he _recognized_ the face of the person that Ash had knocked down. He turned his head to have his worst fears confirmed; about two hundred yards behind them it was the same woman that had kidnapped Ash, but worse was that she had a dagger in her hand, poised and ready to throw it at him.

He spotted another alley to his left that led to a street that Ash knew would be filled with gunmen, but was going to have to do. "Move into the alley!" He shouted at Dawn. She didn't look back as they turned into the alley, which may have been a big mistake. Ash heard her shriek in pain as they turned into the alley, and looked over at her to see a dagger stuck in her forearm.

They skidded to a halt in the alleyway, taking refuge behind a large dumpster that smelled of rotten eggs. Dawn stared in disbelief at her gushing wound, tears of pain rolling down her face. Ash popped his head back into the street to see if that woman was following them, which she thankfully wasn't. He turned back to Dawn's wound, which was still excreting blood.

"We need to find something to cover that up," he said, trying to keep the hysteria out of his voice. He and Dawn both searched frantically through their backpacks as well as their garbage bags for anything that they could use to treat the wound. Ash had to help Dawn with this, since she only had one usable arm. They both looked defeated when their search came up with nothing.

Ash was determined, however, to keep Dawn away from any harm. Seeing as he had already failed, he felt that it was responsibility to make sure that the pain was lessened. He ripped off a long piece of his shirt and tied it around Dawn's arm, above the wound, which still had the knife inserted. Ash thought that the knife might be stopping some of the bleeding, so he thought it best to leave it in her arm. It wasn't the best treatment in the world, but it would have to do, given the circumstances.

It didn't quite calm Dawn down, however. "Ash," cried Dawn, still trying to hold back tears, "what do we do now?!" She raised her voice to a near scream. "I DON'T WANNA DI-"

"Shush!" hissed Ash, "I'm gonna get you out of here!" Dawn quieted down after that, but was still stifling her fearful sobs, looking to Ash for strength. Ash's mind was racing, thinking of a way that they could get out of the city alive. They could've used the same street that the woman who threw the knife had been on, but he didn't want to risk her being on that street still. Who knew if she had a gun? The other street was obviously unsafe, due to the gunmen.

He thought of his Pokemon, which would have been a great help in a situation like this, provided he still had them of course. He still had Pikachu, but he alone wouldn't be able to get all three of them to safety. But what about Dawn's Pokemon?

"Dawn, I need your Pokemon," said Ash. Dawn handed him her pouch that held her Poké Balls. He fumbled around in the pouch, trying to find the Poké Balls labeled TOGEKISS and CYNDAQUIL. When he finally found them, he released the two from their Poké Balls. The two pokémon seemed startled by the gunfire that was surrounding them, but became even more so when they saw Dawn's wound, with the dagger still lodged in her arm.

"OK, guys, listen to me," Ash said to them, "Dawn's hurt really badly, and we need to get out of the city. But I need your help to do it." He turned to Togekiss. "You're gonna fly us out, but I also need you to use Protect, so that Dawn doesn't get hurt further, OK?"

Togekiss looked determined. "To-Kiss!" she chanted.

Ash turned to Cyndaquil. "Cyndaquil, I want you to use Swift to keep the bad guys from hurting Dawn and us. You think you can handle that?" said Ash, trying to downplay the situation as much as possible, so as to keep them from worrying.

Cyndaquil looked apprehensive, but determined nonetheless. "Cyn-da!" he said, with an edge of nervousness in his voice.

"Good," Ash said, suddenly filled with self-confidence. "Dawn, climb on Togekiss's back. Everyone else, do the same. We're gonna make for the forest, then get as far away from the city as we can, but not too far," Ash said, suddenly remembering Brock. They climbed on Togekiss wordlessly, which weighed him down somewhat, yet he was still able to remain airborne.

"Togekiss, use Protect!" Ash commanded. Togekiss emitted a neon purple aura that barely encircled Ash, Pikachu, Dawn, and her Pokemon, as well as their loot. "Alright, Togekiss, once we get going, don't stop!"

"Tog Tog!" Togekiss said in understanding.

"Alright, let's roll!" Ash said. Togekiss rolled forward out of the alley, rising majestically higher and higher into the air. They pushed forward at about twenty miles an hour, eventually topping off at about eighty feet in the air, all while going unnoticed by the Rocket gunmen below them, who focused on the other fleeing trainers.

Cyndaquil and Pikachu eyed the gunmen cautiously, waiting to attack when the time came. Dawn did nothing but look down frightfully as she lightly held her arm, the one with the dagger still in it. Togekiss continued to fly majestically, and they were already a quarter of the way to the forest, still having gone unnoticed by anyone. Ash was ecstatic. Could they really just fly out of the city as easy as this? It seemed too good to be true.

It was. One of the gunmen must have seen Togekiss's shadow flying past them, because the next thing Ash knew one of the gunmen was shouting, "There he is!" and a barrage of bullets was pelting the protective wall that surrounded them. They bounced off of the protective shield with a _ping_, the shield flickering lightly with each bullet impact.

"Cyndaquil, use Swift!" Ash shouted over the gunfire. Cyndaquil did nothing initially, not having heard Ash over the gunfire, then let out a Swift attack after a couple of seconds, knocking down several of the gunmen. Pikachu wanted to help, but knew that using any kind of a thunder attack would risk breaking the immaterial protective wall that spared them from death. Togekiss was pushing forward at full speed towards the forest now.

Dawn was screaming in fright. "This shield can't keep us from getting killed for long!" she shouted, "It's already weakening!"

They were halfway to the forest now, but Dawn was right, their protective wall was beginning to weaken. "Move to the left if you can, Togekiss!" shouted Ash, who was clinging for dear life on Togekiss's horn. She wordlessly moved very slightly to the left. Ash could tell her stamina was running low, since she was also losing speed and altitude. Her protective wall continued to weaken too; by now it was barely visible. Who knew how much longer it could last against the bullets?

"Alright, Togekiss, make a sharp dive into the forest!" commanded Ash.

"Tooo…." grunted Togekiss, who looked about ready to faint from exhaustion. She began her descent into the forest, but it was more of a free fall than a descent. She had to use all of her remaining strength to even remain level.

"Everyone hang on!" screamed Ash, giving up all effort to keep calm. Dawn and Pikachu clutched Togekiss's other horn, nearly crushing it as they did so. The descent grew steeper and steeper; at the rate they were going, Ash figured, they'd land on solid ground about ten feet into the forest. They screamed in horror as they blasted their way down to Earth, gunshots still colliding with their nearly-dead protective wall.

Their protective wall dissolved completely at least two seconds before breaking through the wall of trees that made up the edge of the forest. Branches from the trees were hitting them as they continued to tumble down to earth. Togekiss crash landed on a patch of hard-packed dirt, sending everyone flying off of her and landing hard on the ground beside her.

Dawn, who had thankfully landed on her good arm, immediately called Togekiss back to her PokeBall. She pulled out Cyndaquil's PokeBall to do the same, but she couldn't find him.

She looked behind her to see Ash, speechless and still, standing over Cyndaquil. Dawn ran over to him to see what the matter was. What she saw made her wish she hadn't. Cyndaquil was lying on the ground in his own pool of blood, several gunshot wounds littering its body.

Dawn screamed in horror, not believing the fact that Cyndaquil lay dying. _He wasn't meant to die here, _she thought_. Not like this._ She knelt beside Cyndaquil, whose breathing had become shallower by the second.

"Oh, God!" Dawn exclaimed, unable to contain her emotion, "Cyndaquil, I'm so sorry!" She contined to weep over Cyndaquil's failing body. Cyndaquil turned his head and used the last of his strength in a way that surprised both Ash and Dawn; he issued toward them a single look of hatred. Whether it was hatred at Dawn for letting him die, hatred at Team Rocket for causing his death, or simply hatred at the cruel and unfair world was anyone's guess, but it was undeniable that his look of hatred was pure and seething. With that, he fluttered his eyes shut and breathed his last, never to wake again.

Dawn knelt there, shocked. Once his action had registered with Dawn, she broke out in heavy, uncontrollable sobs. She drove her fists into the ground, punching it in hard anger, shouting, "Why? Why? WHY?" Her Pokemon was murdered, and it seemed to Dawn that she was the guilty one. What was it that he died for, anyways? So they could run for their lives while he gets shot?

Next to her, Pikachu cried next to Dawn, sad that he had lost one of his friends to such mindless violence. Ash simply stood behind her emotionlessly, staring at his body, unable to look away. She didn't even pay any attention to the gunshots that still echoed from the city. So what if they killed her here?

She eventually felt a gentle hand on her shoulder. She turned to see Ash standing above, her, a grim expression on his face. He had a deep sadness in his eyes, which were cast toward the ground as he mumbled, "C'mon, we gotta get going."

**Hey guys, sorry for the late-ish chapter, but like I said I was sick, so that hindered the writing process. However, I think it paid off, since this turned out to be a really good chapter, in my opinion. I can't take all of the credit, however; affTwill, a fellow Fanfic writer, generously assisted me with writing this chapter, so kudos to him! Let me know what you think of this chapter in the reviews! **

**P.S. – I'll spend some time working on cutting the prologue/ fixing some stuff up in the earlier chapters before starting on Chapter 9 **


	7. Chapter 7

_November 14_

Laina wasn't sure how much longer she had been walking when she finally got to the city hall, but judging by the cross look on Jasper's face, it must have been a while. She had spotted him talking to some other Rocket executive when he had spotted her, and his look immediately went from exasperated to angry. He strode towards Laina, arms swinging briskly at his side. When he got to her, he struck her hard on the side of her face, knocking her to the ground as she yelped in pain.

"Where the hell were you?!" he shouted, lifting her from the ground, "I've been waiting for an hour for you to show up!" his face was turning a dark shade of red, and was contorted every which way as he struggled to contain his anger.

Laina was shocked. Sure, Jasper had anger issues, and he might occasionally take it out on one of the lower ranking grunts, but never before had he laid a finger on a high-ranking executive like her. "I-I-I-I'm sorry!" she whimpered, "I was lost and hurt and…and…" she was at a loss for words, unable to speak.

"No excuses, Laina" retorted, "I'm supposed to count on you! How can I do that if you can't even find your way?" Jasper had noticed her several cuts and bruises on her body. "How'd you get those?" he asked, finally beginning to calm down, "and where's your satchel?"

Laina glanced at her bruises. "Oh, you know…survived a truck crash that my men didn't, got knocked down by the kid that I captured, I was hit by my boss…same old, same old." she said sarcastically, partially relieved that she didn't have to fear Jasper, at least for now.

"Very funny," shot Jasper, "and your satchel?"

"I left it in the truck when it crashed," replied Laina. "All I took was my knife."

"Did you really?" asked Jasper with a hint of sarcasm, "I don't see it on you."

Laina breathed deeply. "I ran into that kid I captured, and-"

"Ash?" Jasper interrupted.

Laina was puzzled. How did he know his name? "Uh, yeah. Anyways, he and his little girl friend knocked me down. I tried to kill him, but she took the knife to her arm instead. They got away." Said Laina, a grim look on her face.

"Ah, yes," said Jasper, looking equally grim, "as it turns out, they're pretty dangerous. Let me show you the surveillance footage." He led Laina into the City Hall building, stepping over debris and a few bodies as they did so. When they walked in the building, the sight didn't improve. The gunmen had done their job effectively, for several bodies, presumably of the city officials, were strewn across the floor, lying in their own pools of crimson blood.

Jasper strode over to a set of monitors that had been set up by the wall, punching in some code that Laina didn't understand. "Here," said Jasper, "is the footage we pulled from the PokéMart at about 9 AM this morning."

Laina stared at the monitor, taking in the footage. Ash and a Pikachu, presumably his, were in the PokéMart, running down an aisle when one of the gunmen stepped in his way. In a move that had shocked Laina, he whipped out a knife and stabbed the gunman in the neck, killing him as they ran off of the shot.

"You wouldn't think that he had it in him," said Laina, haunted by the fact that he could've killed her today, but passed her up. "Any footage of his friends?"

"Not of the girl," said Jasper, going back to the computer, "but we were able to pull one still shot of his other friend." He punched in some more code, which revealed a grainy picture of Ash's muscular friend ("_What was his name again?" _Thought Laina), running away from, well, something. Laina studied the picture intensely, taking in all of its detail. There were a few of the gunmen, which by now had run their course in the city, in the shot, so it was probable that it was the gunmen he was running from. She was particularly upset to see that he had the egg cradled under his arm.

"Do we have any other information on them?" Laina asked.

"From what a few of the grunts told me," Jasper replied, "they killed the bigger one. I'm not so sure though, since they haven't found his body or the egg that he had. We printed out the Wanted posters, though." He handed her a large sheet of paper, which had the faces of the three trainers blown up with a caption that read:

**WANTED**

These trainers, known as Ash Ketchum (age 18), Brock Harrison (age 20), and

Dawn Berlitz (age 17), are wanted for crimes of theft and murder against

the Rocket Empire. These three were last seen in Hearthome City on

November 14, 2082 and are known to be on the run. The reward for

information leading to the capture of these fugitives is 50,000 dollars,

DEAD OR ALIVE. They are considered extremely dangerous and, if seen,

should be immediately reported to your nearest Rocket official.

**LONG LIVE THE EMPIRE**

Laina was going to ask about the poster when one of the Rocket grunts ran up to her and said, "Laina, it's time for the propaganda announcement. We're gonna…well, _you're _gonna basically reveal who we are to everyone and what we plan on doing. Almost like a press release." He grinned.

Laina looked at the grunt and said, "Yeah, I'll meet you up at the Radio Station in a few." The grunt walked off as she turned to Jasper. "What do you plan on doing about these kids?" she asked.

"I plan on sending several search parties, one of which I will be leading," Jasper replied.

Laina was sudden struck with fear. He was going to go find a teenage killer, who was armed and dangerous? Sure, Jasper and his men could easily outnumber the three of them, but there was still the chance of Jasper being killed by this kid, or one of his other men. The kid had already killed a grunt today. Who's to say Jasper wouldn't be next?

"Jasper, listen," she said, struggling to keep the fear from her voice, "I know you think finding these kids will be a piece of cake, but you need to be careful. One of them killed a grunt today, and he'll kill you if you don't watch yourself!"

"Laina," said Jasper, "I refuse to let myself be intimidated by some kid who's killed one guy. Look at all the people we've killed today!"

"Jasper, you're not listening!" cried Laina, fed up with Jasper's hardheadedness. "We killed defenseless people, who weren't prepared. This kid is armed, and you won't be able to take him down without a fight, one that I'm not sure he'd lose in. Please, promise me you'll be careful!"

Jasper let out an exasperated sigh. "I'll be careful," he said, letting out a smile, "but we'll have caught and killed him and taken his egg in a week, tops. Just wait and see!" With that, Jasper walked out of the City Hall, while Laina went with the grunt to the Radio Station to make herself known to the world.

* * *

Ash was fiddling with the dial on the transistor radio, trying to find any kind of a radio signal as Dawn slowly sorted through their newly obtained supplies. Neither of them had spoken much since they left the city, just hissing Brock's name every so often in an attempt to locate him. Dawn was still upset over Cyndaquil's death, and Ash was simply mad; he didn't know who to be mad at. They had been walking around the border of Hearthome City for five hours now, keeping the city just within their sights, before finally stopping to rest for a few minutes.

He looked over at Dawn's arm wound, which had stopped bleeding but still had the dagger inserted into it. "We can't leave that in there," Ash mumbled, breaking the seemingly eternal silence that separated them, "it'll get infected. Once we find Brock he'll have to-"

"How do you know we'll find him?" Dawn snapped, struggling to hold back tears, "How do you know he isn't dead in the city, like everyone else?"

To be honest, Ash had no idea whether Brock survived the invasion. But he wasn't about to let Dawn know that. "Because," he finally said, "he's smart enough to get out on his own. I'm sure he's fine." He sent her a reassuring, yet false smile, which Dawn didn't return.

"OK, then," said Dawn, looking down to the ground, "say he did make it out alive. What if he's hurt? He might've been shot or hit by shrapnel or-"

"Well if he did," Ash interrupted, "he'd know how to take care of himself. He's practically a human ambulance, you know that!"

"Well how are we ever gonna find him then?!" Dawn exclaimed, unable to contain her emotions any longer, "he's in one tree in miles of forest, do you know how long it's gonna take to search through every tree within a mile radius of the city to find him, assuming he's even alive?" She burst into tears, fed up with the stress and exhaustion that the day had brought.

Ash couldn't say anything; she _did _have a point, after all. He had told Brock to hide in a tree once he made it out of the city; who knew where his tree was, or how far it was from the city, or even if he made it out of the city at all.

He went to Dawn and awkwardly put his arm around her, trying to offer any means of consolation. "Listen," he said, "it's gonna take a couple of days, you're right. But we WILL find him. He'll be fine on his own. Until then, we just have to keep looking, alright?" He shot her another smile or reassurance, which she saw with a reluctant grin. "Good. Come on, we should keep moving."

"Can you take it off?" Dawn said suddenly. "The shirt, I mean. I can't stand looking at that bloodstain."

Ash didn't take the shirt off, but rather he grabbed his jacket, which he had looted earlier, from the garbage bag and put that on over it. "If it reminds you of the grunt that I killed, then-"

"DON'T!" screamed Dawn, covering her ears. "I don't want to talk about it!"

"No, we need to talk," said Ash, gently removing Dawn's hands from her ears. "I didn't do it out of malice. It was to protect us." Dawn looked at him coldly. "If I hadn't, he would've killed me, and you wouldn't have survived either."

"But why kill him?" Dawn asked.

Ash sighed. "To be honest, it was on a whim. He just showed up and-"

"And you killed him, that's what." Dawn interrupted. "And to be honest with you, I'm not sure I can look at you the same way knowing you did that."

Ash was furious now at Dawn's shallowness. "Well, if I hadn't, you wouldn't be looking at me at all!" he shouted. Dawn burst into tears again. Clearly, she wanted nothing to do with the shouting match anymore. Ash seemed hurt suddenly by her sadness. "Sorry, but it's the truth. But I'm not some cold-hearted killer now, OK? I'm still me, even if I am a murderer. Nothing's changed about me at all."

Dawn turned to Ash, her face an expressionless stone. "Don't act like today hasn't changed you," she said, "you can't just see what happened today, just go through it all and not help but think, Why? So don't pretend you're not thinking about it because, like it or not, you are." She looked at her watch. "Come on, let's keep looking,"

Ash wordlessly got up and began walking beside Dawn, fiddling with the knob on the radio as he went. He persisted in trying to find any kind of a radio broadcast, but every station was offline, broadcasting nothing but static. A tree branch, which was oblivious to Ash, tripped him, making him fall on his face and sending the radio flying. He cursed as he got up and brushed the dirt from his face as Dawn looked at Ash incredulously.

"You're never gonna find any signal from that thing," scoffed Dawn, "every station in the region is probably down."

But what she didn't hear was that the radio, which survived the landing and lay on a soft patch of dirt about twenty feet away, was no longer broadcasting crude static, but an old man's voice. Ash, filled with new hope, dashed for the radio and began to listen as he plucked it from the ground.

"…..not sure exactly what happened today, but the casualties in Veilstone are believed to be in the thousands. Although all reports are unconfirmed, sources from the Pokemon League are reporting that all Gym Leaders are missing, presumed dead."

Ash and Dawn sat down by a tree trunk, lowering the volume on the radio so that no one nearby would hear it. Pikachu sat on Ash's lap, staring at the radio curiously.

"For those of you just joining us," the radio droned, "we are currently trying to piece together the details of exactly what happened across the region today. From what we've gathered, the region has been attacked from some outside terrorist force, which has not yet been identified. Besides this, details are scarce, so please bear with us as we…."

The broadcast cut to static, leaving Ash and Dawn cut off from the outside world yet again. Ash was about to turn the radio off, but before he could reach for the switch the broadcast returned, but this time it was a young woman who was speaking.

"Greetings!" boomed the voice. Ash immediately recognized it as the voice of the woman that kidnapped him last night, and he immediately filled with anger. "This is Laina Woodwright, of the Rocket Empire. I am your new Executive Head of the Northern Sector of the Empire, which you have formerly known as Sinnoh."

Ash looked over at Dawn, who gave nothing but a curious frown to the radio. The radio, meanwhile, continued its broadcast. "We come to Sinnoh with a new age of prosperity, for both humans and Pokémon alike! Equality will be brought to this ravaged land, trainers will be no more!"

"Bullshit!" Ash and Dawn both screamed.

"Pik_aaa_" growled Pikachu, sensing their anger.

"Trainers have brought nothing to this land but abuse and anger to Pokemon, wild and trained alike." continued Laina. "We promise to care for these Pokémon and bring down the wrath of trainers everywhere!"

"By killing thousands of innocent people?!" Dawn yelled to the radio, as if it were listening to her.

"There are trainers out there who are spoken of as legends, but are nothing but monsters." Laina said, "and we wish to eliminate those very monsters. Take, for example, Ash Ketchum, who's wanted by the Rocket Empire for theft and murder."

"_Exactly what did I take from them_?" Ash wondered to himself. "_Sure, they have me for murder, but theft?"_

"If you spot Ash or either of his accomplices, contact your nearest Rocket official." Laina paused. "And, of course, LONG LIVE THE EMPIRE!" With that the broadcast turned to static once more, but this time the broadcast never returned.

Even though it had been obvious to Ash all day, the reality was finally sinking in. They were wanted fugitives; everyone in the region was now on a manhunt for them. They wouldn't be able to show their face again. They'd have to vanish off of the face of the Earth. Dawn and Pikachu must have realized the same thing, because they both had similar looks of defeat on their face.

Ash sighed. "Alright, let's go," he said, standing up as Pikachu jumped off of his lap.

"Can't we just stay here for the night?" Dawn asked, "I mean, it's almost sundown, and we're no safer here than anywhere else."

He looked at his watch. 5:12 PM. "Might as well," said Ash, who set his bags down on the ground. "Why don't you go find some kindling for a fire? I'll break some branches for firewood."

Dawn wordlessly walked off to find some kindling while Ash took a wood axe from one of his bags ("_I really should sort this stuff out, _he thought) and began breaking down branches for firewood. Pikachu, not having anything to do, began chasing his tail as if he were a dog. Ash saw this and found it amusing, the first time he had laughed in the past two days.

He then thought about the last time he had laughed, or tried to, at least. When did he laugh last? The day before he found the egg? Yes, it must have been, thought Ash. He didn't remember why he had laughed. Maybe Brock had told a joke, or maybe Pikachu had done something silly. He couldn't remember, but what did it matter? Laughter was a thing of the past now, so what was the point of thinking about it?

Dawn came back with a handful of kindling that she laid down in a neat pile on the ground. "Is this enough?" she asked, looking very pleased with herself. She noticed Ash's scarcity of gathered firewood. "If that's all you found, then this'll be plenty!" she said sarcastically

"Sorry," said Ash sheepishly, "I was distracted. Do me a favor and take the fire pit ring out of the bag." She did so while Ash went back to chopping branches for firewood. The silence that had temporarily vanished returned with a vengeance as they silently went about their work. The only sound that could be heard was the sound of the wood axe against branches as Ash continued to chop away at them.

It was Dawn that broke the silence. "I want to cremate him." Ash looked at her, confused, before realizing that she was talking about Cyndaquil. Ash, as sad as he was about his death, had forgotten about him in the past few hours. They had returned his body to his PokéBall once they left, and promised to do something about him later, in their minds at least.

"Cremation?" asked Ash, "why cremation? Can't we just bury him?"

"It just feels…." said Dawn, trying to find the right word. "Fitting." She said finally. "He was a fire-type, after all.

"I guess you're right. In that case, I'll have Inferna-"he said, stopping when he remembered that his Pokémon were gone. He gave a sheepish sigh.

"What's wrong?" Dawn asked.

"My Pokémon," Ash replied, "they're gone. All of them." Dawn gave him an apologetic look, which he waved off. "I have matches," he said as he grabbed some out of his bag. He struck one and threw it into the pile of kindling, which Ash had laid firewood on top of. The fire grew slowly, but eventually became large enough to provide a light source, since it had grown much darker.

"OK, so exactly how are we gonna do this?" asked Ash.

"The only way we can," replied Dawn. She took out Cyndaquil's PokéBall and tossed it into the center of the fire. The PokéBall was flame retardant, but Ash and Dawn knew that within minutes his body would be nothing but a pile of ash.

Dawn pretended not to care, but Ash knew that she was mourning inside. They both stared into the fire, watching the flames burn around the PokéBall. Ash thought about how much Dawn loved her Cyndaquil, who was always bounding with energy, and let out a single tear, the first of many to flow in the coming weeks. "_I'm sorry, Cyndaquil," _thought Ash, "_I'm sorry. This is all my fault."_

After about ten minutes, the night became chillier and the winds stronger, and a particularly strong gust blew the fire out completely. The smoking PokéBall was left in the middle of a pile of dead wood, providing the only color in a pit of blackness.

"One thing left to do," said Ash. He used two sticks to pick up the PokéBall from the pit and let it cool in his bottle of water. After a few minutes, he removed the PokéBall, dumped out the water and opened up the PokéBall. Sure enough, all that remained inside was a heaping pile of ash, which made Dawn visibly sick. As she retched behind a tree, Ash took a deep breath and flung the PokéBall into the night, the ash being carried away by the wind. The now empty PokéBall landed with a _clink_ in the distance. Ash thought it better not to retrieve it. He turned his back to walk away when an _ACHOO_ from the trees made him freeze in his tracks.

**Hey guys, this is a really long chapter! From now on, the chapters for this story should be about this length, and hopefully no longer than 4000 words each. I tried to include some comic relief here, as well as some more melancholy happenings and a cliffhanger, so let me know what you think in the reviews! Chapter 10 will hopeful be up by next Wednesday!**

**P.S. Happy Ash Wednesday! Get it? **_**Ash! **_


	8. Chapter 8

_November 14_

Brock heard the boy long before he saw him. He could hear him panting from several hundred feet away, footsteps pounding onto the earth as he ran. Brock heard him break into the clearing directly under his tree, then stop. From the sound of it, he had stopped running and was resting directly under Brock's tree.

Having no idea who it was, he slowly pulled back a branch so that there was just enough space for him to see through the tree. He saw that it was a boy who looked about Dawn's age, but with Brock's stature and build. They almost looked like twins, in fact.

"_He doesn't look threatening,"_ thought Brock, _"should I befriend him?"_ Brock didn't immediately answer the question, but spied on the boy to see if he did anything out of the ordinary.

He sat down under Brock's tree and sipped at a bottle of water. Brock went unnoticed by him, which Brock preferred. The kid looked jittery, jumping at every little noise that the forest offered to him. He was fidgeting with a Pokétch, scrambling with the buttons before he pulled up the map of Sinnoh. After studying it for a few moments, he stood up and began to walk off.

Brock thought it best not to reach out to him. He didn't know that he could trust the boy, so he thought it better that he not attract attention to him. He watched him walk away when a bush to the boy's right suddenly gave a tremble. The boy darted his head toward the sound only to meet a shotgun shell to the face, killing him instantly.

Brock quickly retreated behind the cover of his tree, having to clasp his hand over his mouth to stifle his scream of shock. "_Did that really just happen?" _thought Brock, his mind racing, _"did he just get shot? No, this can't be real!"_

Unfortunately, cries of "He's dead!" and "Take his stuff!" confirmed that this was indeed very, very real. Hardly daring to even breathe, he slowly pilled back a branch, as he had done before, to see if he could catch a glimpse of the shooter.

He was met with not one, but five men, all wearing identical gray jumpsuits, rummaging through the dead boy's knapsack about twenty yards from his tree. Besides two of them scuffling over the boy's Pokétch, they were silent as they emptied his sack. Brock watched them carefully as the scuffle between the two men escalated into a full out fist fight. The other three men attempted to break up the fight, but quickly moved out of the way when one of the fighters whipped out a pistol and shot the other fighter dead before being shot himself by one of the other grunts.

Brock gasped when the men fell dead, and again when he caught a glimpse of a blazing red "R", not unlike the "B" he had smeared on his tree, on the chest of one of the men. He knew that symbol anywhere; it belonged to Team Rocket. His mind jumped to the fighter jets that attacked the city earlier, which had the same "R" on them. Was it Team Rocket that was doing all of this?

Before he had time to think about that question, he realized that the egg, which had been tucked under his arm, was quickly slipping from his grip. Just as the egg left his grip completely, he made a wild grab for the falling egg, successfully catching it but whacking his arm on a tree branch in the process.

The branch rustled, knocking into a few other branches as it did so. Brock saw the grunts look his way, obviously having been alarmed by the noise. Brock sat there, unmoving, for any movement on his part would likely result in death at the hands of these grunts. Were they staring at him, or at the tree itself? Brock didn't know, but he didn't want to know either.

Eventually, one of the grunts said, "It was probably just another Starly. Don't waste your ammo." The other grunts wordlessly went back to looting from the dead kid as Brock gave a heavy, yet silent sigh of relief. He felt like Death had stared him down, but passed him off as scrap. He would live to see another day, but for how much longer?

The grunts eventually walked off, and Brock was left in the tree with the dead kid and the dead grunts nearby. He didn't move just yet; those grunts could still be nearby. He went back to waiting on his branch, in the exact position as before." _At least I got to move my legs a little bit after that, _Brock thought, _maybe now they won't fall asleep for a few more hours!"_

This time around, the waiting seemed much more irritating. Unlike before the shooting, he had been content with waiting around all day, but now it was almost unbearable. With each passing moment he wiled Ash and Dawn to come for him, so that he would at least have something to do.

His mind went back to the dead kid, and the grunts as well. Sure, the grunts were on Team Rocket's side, but their deaths were not deserved, at least not yet. "_Maybe I should do something with their bodies"_, he thought, but he waved the thought away; he wouldn't be able to bury them, so nothing was to be done.

"_May their souls rest eternally in the afterlife, wherever and whatever that may be," _thought Brock. That simple prayer was the best he could do, but in a way he felt like it was the best thing anyone could do. That was his last thought as he dozed off in the tree.

* * *

When Brock woke up, everything was dark." _Am I dead?" _thought Brock, "_did someone kill me in my sleep?_" Brock didn't know, and fear began to seize him. What if he was dead, and Ash and Dawn were left on their own? They'd be searching for him for days, weeks even, but they'd never find him. What if they died while finding him? What if they were already dead?

Slowly, his eyes began to adjust to the darkness, and he nearly cried in relief when he saw that he was in the same tree as before, and was not in fact dead. A cool wind was blowing through his hair, and a newfound chill ran through Brock's body. He wanted so desperately to grab his sleeping bag from his frame backpack, but didn't chance moving around just yet; anyone could still be within hearing distance from Brock's tree.

To his right he noticed a glowing light about eighty yards off. Someone must have made a fire, but Brock didn't hear any voices, just the crackling of the fire. He observed the fire nonchalantly, trying to catch any glimpse of who had made it, but was unable to do so. He thought he saw a red tint in the fire, but didn't think anything of it.

As quickly as he noticed the fire, a strong gust of wind put the fire out, leaving him in the dark. Brock heard a voice mumbling, but couldn't make out what they said, or who said it. After this followed more silence, and Brock thought that whoever had lit the fire had walked off. He closed his eyes to go back to sleep, but a violent, retching sound woke him once again. He was going to poke his head out of the tree to see who it was, but he felt some sort of dust sprinkle itself across the tree as well as his face.

The dust smelled of burnt ash, and got caught in Brock's nose. He could feel a sneeze coming on. "_Oh shit," _thought Brock, "_please don't sneeze, please don't-"_

_ ACHOO!_

Brock froze in place, hardly daring to move. Had anyone heard him? Even if they had, would they confront him?

The retching had stopped by now, and a faint "What was that?" could be heard. Brock could tell the voice was a girl's, but he couldn't tell whose it was.

"Get back" hissed another voice. Brock couldn't tell whether this second voice belonged to a boy or a girl. Brock was forced to hold in his breath, out of danger of being heard by whoever was under his tree. Brock could hear a pair of feet crunching the leaves that were under his tree, and he realized that whoever was down there was now at the base of the tree.

In a move that, to Brock, may have been suicide, he slowly peeled back a branch of the tree to see if he could identify who was down there. Sure enough, he saw a dark silhouette, kneeling down by his tree. _Why are they kneeling?" _thought Brock. But then the figure below turned on a flashlight and pointed it at the tree to reveal the bloody "B" in the light.

The figure stood unmoving, their flashlight still aimed at the "B". Brock felt as if he would pass out from lack of air, since he didn't risk breathing in case it might be audible. Suddenly, the bright beam from the flashlight was pointed directly at Brock, blinding him completely. He flinched backwards, making him fall off of the branch and down to earth.

Brock felt himself crashing through the concealment of the tree and landing hard on the figure, knocking the wind out of Brock as he heard a girl screaming. "_Is that Dawn?" _thought Brock, as the figure wedged himself out from under Brock, and soon towered over him while Brock was still on the ground, the light pointed at his face.

"Brock?"

"_Was that Ash's voice?"_ thought Brock, who was just now beginning to stand up.

"Brock!" repeated the voice, as Brock felt a pair of arms wrap around him in an embracing hug. The light from the flashlight reveal a slightly bloody, but otherwise unharmed Ash, with Dawn running up to them from behind.

"_Oh, thank God!"_ thought Brock, relieved that his friends were not only alive, but safe and sound. Well, for the moment at least.

"Are you alright?" asked Ash, after he ended their reunion hug. "Do you have the egg?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," replied Brock, "and so is the egg. How about you guys?"

"I'm fine," said Ash, his voice becoming noticeably grimmer with each word he spoke, "but Dawn's not. I'll explain later. Come on, help us make another fire." Brock climbed his tree again to get his stuff before following Ash back to their campsite, which consisted of a single fire pit.

"You can't use your Pokémon?" asked Brock.

"No," said Ash, "mine are gone. All of them. Pikachu's all I got."

"Oh, man," said a disheartened Brock, "I'm so sorry. But what about Cyndaquil?"

"Dead." was Ash's sole reply.

"Dead?!" Brock asked incredulously, "but how did he-"

"I'll explain later. I don't want Dawn to get upset again." said Ash.

He set his stuff down, and then pulled from his backpack a flint igniter, which he used to re-kindle Ash's fire. The new glow from the fire was bright enough to reveal Brock's ear wound to Ash and Dawn, and Dawn's arm wound to Brock.

"What happened?!" all three of them screamed simultaneously.

"You first," said Ash, the worry beginning to mount in his voice.

Brock gave a sigh. "Shot." He quietly mumbled, "and her wound?"

Ash returned his sigh before saying, "She got stabbed by the same woman that kidnapped me. She nearly got me with it, though. But seriously, we should re-wrap that ear, it-"

"Never mind me," interrupted Brock, "we need to get that knife out of her arm. Like, now." He dug around in his backpack until he found the bottle of painkillers and tossed it to Dawn. "Take one of these," said Brock, "it'll help with the pain. I'll make some dinner."

Ash relished at the thought of food; he just realized that none of them had had any food today. He watched as Dawn handed Brock a can of Chicken Broth as Brock pulled out his pot from his backpack. Dawn swallowed her painkiller with a small choke, having to force it down her throat.

When the broth had finished boiling, Brock evenly distributed it into four bowls and handed three of them to Ash, Dawn, and Pikachu. The other Pokémon would have to wait for their food, thought Brock, but they'd be fine for a while in their PokéBalls. All four of them gulped down the broth in almost no time flat, not even caring that the hot broth was scalding their throats with each gulp.

All four of them downed the savory broth in almost no time flat, not even caring that the hot liquid was scalding their throats with each gulp. Ash felt like he had never tasted anything more delicious in his life, even though Brock served Chicken Broth at least once a week.

"Alright," said Brock, "now to remove that knife." Dawn looked apprehensive at the thought of the knife coming out of her arm. "Don't worry," chuckled Brock at the sight of her nervousness, "that's what the painkiller was for. It won't hurt as much that way."

"Whatever you're gonna do, do it quick, OK?" said Dawn, who was squeamish despite Brock's reassurance.

"Of course," replied Brock, walking over to Dawn with a roll of bandages. "On the count of three, I'm going to quickly pull out the knife, okay?"

Dawn nodded, her apprehension climbing with every passing second. "I'll look away," she said as she turned her head away from Brock and towards Ash, who gave her a reassuring nod.

"One." said Brock. Before moving on to "two", he jerked the knife free from Dawn's arm, catching both Dawn and Ash off guard. Dawn shrieked in pain, causing Ash to clasp Dawn's mouth shut, in case anyone was nearby. Brock was already wrapping the bandages around Dawn's wound, which was slowly starting to ooze with blood.

"There," said Brock once he had finished, "that wasn't so bad, was it?"

"You idiot!" hissed Dawn, crying tears of pain, "you were supposed to count to three! What the hell was that?"

"Trust me," said Brock, "it would've hurt more if I did, because you would've expected the pain, which makes it hurt more. That wound will heal in no time!"

"You better hope so," snapped Dawn, "or you're gonna get one just like it!" Her threat registered as surprise on Brock's face, and Pikachu hid behind Ash's leg out of fright. _"Why is she so angry?"_ thought Brock, "_besides the fact that I ripped a knife out of her arm?"_

"Sorry," apologized Dawn, "I'm just so upset about what happened today that…" she didn't finish her sentence.

"Forget it," said Brock, "but could you tell me exactly what _did _happen today?"

"Long story short," piped Ash, "Team Rocket's stronger. Now they're calling themselves the Rocket Empire. They've taken over all of Sinnoh. Oh yeah, now there's a region-wide manhunt for us."

"Shit," said Brock, obviously in shock at the thought of what had happened, "they must really want that egg, if they're trying to kill us for it!"

"Well, where do we go from here?" asked Dawn, "obviously we can't stay in Sinnoh without being killed."

"We need to get out of Sinnoh," replied Ash, "we should probably get to Kanto, or Hoenn, maybe. The question is, how?"

Brock pulled out his map of the region and laid it across the ground, then pulled out from his pocket a compass, which he laid on the map. He studied the map, which proved to be a daunting task, since he could barely see it when he only had the light from the fire.

"Okay," Brock finally said, "we have a few options here. There's a port in Canalave City, as well as in Sunyshore. We can hitch a ride on a boat to some other region. We're here," he said, pointing to the edge of Hearthome City, "and we're about equidistant from both cities. "

"We should try Canalave," voted Dawn.

"Why there?" asked Ash, "why not Sunyshore?"

"Because," said Dawn, "Twinleaf Town is on the way. I want to know if my mom is okay."

I'm sure that you do," said Brock, "but I'm not sure that that's such a good idea. We'd have to cross Mt. Coronet, and that just adds extra time to the trip. That, or go around and hit Snowpoint City, which adds time to the trip still. It'd take us a month either way, but going straight to Sunyshore would take us half that time."

"That's true," said Ash, "but it isn't like we can't make the longer trip. I mean, we do have all of this food and supplies. I think that going around the mountain is the best idea, plus we can somehow pick up more supplies at Snowpoint if we need to."

"Yeah, besides," said Dawn, "I think that in this case no news _isn't _good news."

Brock was silent, obviously not liking the idea of taking the longer trip to the port. "What about this," he said, "we can take the boat at Sunyshore and stop at Twinleaf Town first before going to another region. This way, everybody wins, right?"

"No!" objected Dawn, "how do we know that there'll be a boat that'll stop at Twinleaf? Or even if there is a port? For all we know, the ports were destroyed in the invasion."

"Well we have to go somewhere, don't we?" said Ash, the frustration slowly boiling over.

"He's right," said Brock, "we can only assume that the ports are still running. If they're not, we'll go into hiding outside of a city. But for now, we should plan on catching a boat out." Dawn raised her eyebrows at Brock. "And we'll try the Canalave port first." said Brock with a sigh. "That might be a better idea after all; from what I remember, they have a regular boat travelling to and from Kanto; we can take that, assuming it's still running."

"Good," said Dawn, who began to stand up. "I'm gonna go relieve myself, then I'm going to bed."

"Now?" asked Ash, "it's only 6:30!"

"So?" snapped Dawn, "it's been a long day, and I'm tired as hell. Do one of you guys mind keeping watch tonight?

Ash forgot about that part. They'd have to have someone stay up through the night to keep watch, in case anyone who would be looking for them was travelling by night. He was about to volunteer for the watch before Brock said, "I'll do it, I'm not exactly in the mood to sleep."

Neither was Ash, but he didn't object. After everything that had happened today, he wasn't in great condition for offering any sort of argument. He stroked Pikachu's fur, Pikachu being, like Dawn, tired and ready for bed. Ash figured that he might as well try and go to sleep, too. He had no idea how much he would need it in the days to come.

**Hey guys, I tried to make this chapter a bit more dialogue-driven than the previous ones. Let me know how I did in the reviews! This chapter is out earlier than I anticipated, but that's because I wanted to put this chapter out before Tuesday, when I go back to school. Speaking of that, I've been swamped with projects and homework, so it could be a while before the next chapter comes out, probably late next week. See you next time!**


	9. Chapter 9

_November 15_

When Ash woke up, everything was a mixture of black and white. It was still dark out, but everything was now covered in a thin layer of glowing white snow, illuminated by the full moon directly above him. The air had grown much colder since he had fallen asleep, and Ash quickly found himself shivering, the fire having been put out by the snow long ago.

He brushed the snow off of his watch to check the time. 12:19 AM. They had fallen asleep at about 7 PM, so Brock had been keeping watch for five hours now. Ash figured he would switch off with Brock now, since he was already awake. Ash looked around to see Dawn and Pikachu blanketed by the sheet of snow, yet Brock was nowhere to be found.

Before he could wonder where he had gone, he heard a faint grunting sound behind him. He turned to see Brock hanging from a tree branch, lifting himself with his arms before letting himself descend again.

Brock noticed now that Ash had woken and was giving him a strange look. "What?" he asked.

"Brock, are...are you doing pull ups?" asked Ash, incredulously.

"Sure," replied Brock matter-of-factly, "why should running for my life keep me from getting out of shape?"

"Yeah, I suppose," said Ash, "but you're done for the night. I'm taking your watch shift, OK?"

Brock gave a chuckle as he released his grip from the tree branch. "Alright," said Brock, "if you say so." He walked over to where Ash was sleeping and lay down.

Ash, meanwhile, sat down opposite Brock, bringing with him the two garbage bags of supplies, which were beside Dawn. He removed everything from the bags and laid them out in front of him. Among the supplies were the two empty backpacks, three waist belts, hunting knives, wood axes, and two winter jackets (Ash was still wearing his), as well as other, smaller supplies.

He perused the loot, wondering how he should divvy up the supplies among each backpack. He started with the knives, putting one of each into a waist belt, one for each of them. He then took the two wood axes and put one in one of the empty backpacks, the other in his own. He would've put it in Brock's other backpack, but Ash thought it would be wrong to snoop in his and Dawn's backpacks.

Most of the supplies that were left on the ground now were smaller items; matches, batteries, flashlights, smaller things that would still prove to be important. He divided all of these supplies into three equally-sized piles, and then distributed each pile into a backpack; one pile into Ash's own backpack and the other two piles each going into one of the new backpacks.

Now that Ash was done with the supplies, now he went to gauge the current food and water supply. He had put this off until the end, since he didn't quite want to know how much food they had, in case it wasn't much. He grabbed the bags of food from Dawn's end and quietly dumped the cans of food onto the forest floor. Judging by the size of the pile, plus whatever Ash thought the others had in their backpacks, they had enough food for about three weeks, give or take. "_Not long enough,"_ thought Ash, remembering that the trip to Canalave would take at least four weeks. "_We'll have to cut our meals," _he thought, "_probably to two meals a day, one for the other Pokemon. Oh, man…." _He was devastated at the thought of cutting their daily meals, especially for the Pokemon; would they be able to handle it?

Ash moved on to the water bottles. Counting the empty ones, his own water bottle, and Dawn's and Brock's, which had been filled up two days prior, they had about a day and a half worth of water. They'd have to find some sort of stream, or a creek, Ash thought. That, or die of thirst in a week, tops. They were relatively close to Mt. Coronet, though, so couldn't they-

"I'm telling you, I think he went this way!"

Ash didn't even react before taking refuge behind a bush. He didn't dare look to see who it was. For all he knew, it was someone who was looking for them, and them specifically. He had no choice but to listen to the voices and pray that neither Brock nor Dawn would wake up.

"How do you know?" said a voice, "we haven't even seen him!"

"That might've been his footprint back there!" said the first voice. This voice was deeper, gruffer than the other.

Ash heard the slap of flesh against flesh as a shout rang out. "Explain to me, then," shouted the second voice, "Why that's the only one we've seen for miles!"

He couldn't help it anymore; he simply had to see who was out there. He ever so slowly inched his head from behind the tree until his left eye protruded from behind it. Standing about a hundred feet off in the distance were four men. Ash couldn't tell what any of them looked like, but one of them seemed to glow in some sort of white jumpsuit, while the others wore dark grey ones. Ash immediately recognized those as Team Rocket uniforms. Three of them, including the one in the lighter jumpsuit, were shouting at each other, while the fourth seemed to have no interest in the squabble, leaning against a tree a few yards off.

"Wait a minute," shouted a third voice, "his footprint points that way, let's go in that direction and see what we find!" Ash saw a hand extend away from him, but from the corner of his eye he saw two blinking orbs. He turned to see Dawn, her eyes widened; obviously scared about the fact that Team Rocket was standing a mere hundred feet away from them.

Ash, trying to remain calm, moved his finger up to his mouth to signal Dawn to stay quiet. He looked around him, trying to find anything that might help them get out of this situation. He noticed next to his foot a small rock, no bigger than an acorn. He could use it as a distraction, he thought, and give them time to quietly flee.

He looked back over at Dawn, who had quietly gathered her bags and had woken Brock and Pikachu. He motioned to them to get their attention, and then signaled what he was going to do; he pointed to the rock in his hand, then made a small throwing motion, then pointed to the direction that they should run in. Dawn nodded, as did Brock. Pikachu climbed on Brock's back, taking hold of his backpack.

Ash took a deep breath and lobbed the rock in the Grunts' general direction, hoping it would fly past them and land on the ground past the Rockets. Thankfully, it did. Ash couldn't hear it land, but the Rockets must have been able to, because they stopped shouting at each other and immediately turned their heads toward the sound. As they walked toward it, the fourth grunt, who lagged in following the others, suddenly turned his head toward Ash.

Ash was practically a statue, his whole body still as he stared into the grunt's eyes. He was sure that the grunt was doing the same. Had he seen him? What about the others? The grunt continued to stare towards him for what seemed like a full minute to Ash." _If you're gonna kill us, _he thought, _don't keep me waiting!"_

The grunt didn't keep him waiting, but he didn't kill him, either. He simply turned in the direction that the other grunts had and walked off, disappearing in the darkness of the forest.

Ash didn't waste any time scooping up his supplies and throwing them back in the garbage bag. He'd have to resort them again, but if it kept them alive longer, he'd be willing to do it. "Run!" he hissed at Dawn and Brock, and they quickly got up and ran in the opposite direction that the grunts had gone, their bags hastily slung over their backs.

Ash wasn't sure how far they had run. He didn't even know what direction they had gone. For all he knew, they could be running from Canalave, and therefore making the trip that much longer. All he knew was that after only two minutes, Dawn was on the ground, gasping for breath. Brock was kneeling next to her, holding a bottle of water to her mouth.

Ash sighed and looked around at his new locale. They had left the firepit ring back at their old hideout, which was no longer safe to go back to. But Ash wasn't comfortable sleeping out in the open anymore. No, they had to be concealed, he thought.

"Dawn," he said, turning to her. She wasn't wheezing anymore, but she was taking large sips from the water bottle. "Do you think you can climb this tree? We need to stay hidden." He gave her an almost apologetic look.

Dawn nodded, looking ready to cry out of exhaustion and fear. "If you want," she said between breaths, "I can keep watch for the rest of the night."

"Hell no!" Ash immediately said, "You need to rest. I'll keep watch till morning."

Dawn didn't feel like putting up any sort of a fight, so she wordlessly climbed an adjacent tree and disappeared in the canopy as Brock did the same. Ash went over to Dawn's tree and climbed it, not willing to leave Dawn alone. He felt bad about leaving Brock out, but he'd be fine on his own. "_Right?"_

She had laid herself down on a wide branch, her back up against the tree itself. She was laying her blanket across her body as Ash said, "You okay?" Dawn turned toward to Ash and nodded, clearly not in the mood to talk. "Just try to sleep," Ash said, "you'll feel better in the morning."

Dawn closed her eyes as Ash climbed further up the tree. He found a branch big enough to support him, and sat down on it, Pikachu lying on his lap. The air was much cooler due to the elevated altitude, and Ash had only his jacket and his thin blanket to keep them warm. They did the job well, but Ash and Piakchu couldn't help but shiver.

He looked down at Dawn, who was about 15 or so feet below Ash's branch. Even from all the way up there, Ash could tell she was shivering from the stifling cold. He would be warm enough without his blanket, he thought, so he climbed down to Dawn and wordlessly covered her in his blanket before climbing back up to his own branch. When he got back to his branch, he looked down to see Dawn, who had cocooned herself in her second blanket, no longer shivering, sleep having finally overtaken her. "_Good,_ Ash though, feeling just a little bit more proud of himself. He'd be colder, but at least Dawn would get to be warm.

He didn't know what to do with himself, now that he would be up for the rest of the night. On a whim, he decided to pull out his wallet, see what was in there. Ash first took notice of twenty dollars cash, which had been leftover from last week. _"Might be useful,"_ thought Ash, as he moved on to see what else he had left in there.

He pulled out his Trainer card, but right away Ash noticed something different. While normally having a bright red background, it had transitioned to a dark grey. A black square was completely covering Ash's picture, and all of his trainer information was gone. "_What the hell?" _Ash thought, "_what happened to my Trainer Card?"_ He flipped it over to see that a wall of text had appeared on the back of the Card;

**THIS TRAINER CARD HAS BEEN REVOKED AND THE TRAINER TO**

** WHICH THIS BELONGS, ****ASH KETCHUM****, HAS BEEN FOUND **

** UNSUITABLE FOR CERTIFIED TRAINING IN ACCORDANCE WITH **

** SINNOH GOVERNMENT POLICIES.**

Ash immediately recognized this as Team Rocket's work, since the Sinnoh Government was no longer in control. "_Great," _Ash thought, "_just great!" _ He snapped his trainer card in two and threw it as far as he could, all while stifling his screams of rage. First Cyndaquil, then Dawn's arm, then Brock's ear, and now his Pokémon weren't even legally his?!

Pikachu licked Ash's cheek a few times, which made him feel better. He presumed that the same thing had happened to Dawn's Trainer Card, but decided not to bother her about it until morning. After all, she had been through enough today as it was. He put his wallet in his back pocket and simply stared at the wall of leaves that hid him.

* * *

For Jasper, breakfast consisted of 3 small, pre-wrapped sausage links and eggs, the same as the grunts had. It was nowhere the delicacies he was used to back at Rocket Headquarters, but he was adept to change. He was taking the whole wilderness survival thing quite well, even though he had never been a trainer.

Two of the grunts went foraging for any roaming trainers, leaving Jasper and one of the grunts by the fire they had used to make their meal (using a firepit ring that someone had left behind). This grunt was a quiet one, Jasper noticed, and he seemed pretty shift, too, as far as the average grunt went. He hadn't even met him until yesterday, when he first met his self-appointed search party. "_Why did I pick this guy again?" _he thought.

"Hey," said Jasper to the grunt, "could you tell me your name again?"

The grunt shot him an intimidating, almost menacing look. "Xander," he mumbled, before turning his head back to his meal. He didn't look at all interested in his food or in Jasper.

"Don't talk much, do you Xander?" said Jasper. "You've barely said a word since we left Hearthome!"

Xander slowly shook his head as he shoved a forkful of eggs into his mouth.

"Why is that?" asked Jasper, who was trying to figure what Xander's deal was. Xander simply shrugged as he scratched at his flaming red hair, also unusual for a grunt.

Jasper was going to say something else to Xander, but at that moment the other two grunts were running back to their fire, a slip of plastic in their hand. "Jasper, sir!" shouted one of the grunts, "you need to see this!"

Jasper took the slip of plastic from the grunts. It was awkwardly shaped, as if someone had torn it into pieces. There was nothing special about it – it was just grey plastic with a black tile of some sort on it.

"What the hell is this?" shouted Jasper, "it's just a useless hunk of plastic!"

"No, it's not!" said one of the grunts, "flip it over!" Xander still had his head lowered towards his food, which he had just finished.

Jasper flipped over the card, not expecting to find anything of interest despite the grunt's beliefs. What he found was a wall of text that, despite being cut off at various points, made Jasper grin wider than he ever had:

-**EEN REVOKED AND THE TRAINER TO**

** -****SH KETCHUM, ****HAS BEEN FOUND**

** -ED TRAINING IN ACCORDANCE WITH**

-**NMENT POLICIES**

"Xander!" said Jasper, the anticipation beginning to overtake him, "Xander, look at this!" Xander eased his way over to the card Jasper was holding, raising his eyebrows when he read what was on it. "We're right on their heels!" said Jasper. Xander did nothing but return to cleaning the crumbs from his plate.

Not even Xander's subtleness could deter Jasper now, not when this kid was so close by. "Everyone!" he shouted, "get your stuff together, we're leaving now! Looks like we'll be home by sundown!"

* * *

"Brock, what's the plan for breakfast?" asked Ash the next morning.

"We need to get moving for a bit before anything," replied Brock, "I don't think it's a good idea to stay in one place for too long."

"Especially after what happened last night," chimed in Dawn.

"Pika p_iii_", agreed Pikachu.

"Alright," said Ash. "Besides that, there's something else we need to talk about."

"Which is?" asked Dawn, the worry already beginning to mount in her voice.

"We need to cut down on our meals," Ash said. "Two meals a day, one for the Pokémon, except for Pikachu."

"Wait a minute," objected Dawn, "why is it that Pikachu doesn't only get one meal?"

"He's never in a Pokéball," Ash replied, "so he's just as active as we are. He needs the energy."

"BULLSHIT!" screamed Dawn, "all he does is sit on your shoulder all day, he doesn't need two meals!" Pikachu was hiding his head in Ash's backpack out of fright of Dawn's anger.

Even Ash was caught off guard by her fury. "Shhhh!" he hissed, "do you want anyone to hear us?"

Apparently Dawn did, because she only grew louder. "It's not fair!" she yelled, "first we're caught in some sick game of hide and seek, and now we can't even go on a full stomach?"

"We simply don't enough have food for the trip to Canalave," Ash calmly explained. Dawn still looked furious, but her furious look became one of horror, while a similar one was to be found on Brock's face. She pointed to something behind Ash as he whipped his head.

Standing before him was the white jump suited grunt, the same one that he had seen the night before. He had a pistol pointed to Ash's chest. "Well," he said with a sly grin, "that was easy."

"_Just you?" _thought Ash, stepping in front of Dawn to protect her, "_where's the rest of your-"_

The other three grunts that he had seen last night emerged from behind the first, all of them pointing pistols at the trainers.

"_Shit."_


	10. Chapter 10

_November 15_

Ash, Dawn, and Brock all put their hands up, none of them knowing if they should, but felt like it was right anyways. Pikachu was charging up to unleash a thunderbolt attack, but Ash, hovered his foot in front of Pikachu to ward him off. "_Good thinking Pikachu," _Ash thought, "_but that won't help us this time."_ He didn't dare speak out loud, not when they had multiple guns pointed at them. A grunt with blazing red hair was staring at him with curiosity, which unsettled Ash.

"Did you really think," sneered Jasper, who was slowly walking toward Ash, "that you could really try and run from _us_?" Dawn's eyes began to water in fright. "I mean, we're Team Rocket, for cryin' out loud!" He drew closer until he was standing inches from Ash's terrified face. "You can't outrun us! We're EVERYWHERE!"

Jasper rammed his knee into Ash's gut, bringing him to the ground as he howled in pain. Pikachu let out a cry of worry, which turned into pain as Jasper kicked him into a nearby tree, knocking Pikachu unconscious. He could hear Dawn screaming, trying to help him, but he saw the other grunts approaching them, rope in their hands. "_Shit," _thought Ash, "_this is it. We're going to die."_ Somehow, thinking about death made Ash feel better, if only a little.

He saw the red-haired grunt pass Jasper, who had walked off and looked as if he was punching in numbers on his phone. He looked the grunt in the eye; making him feel accountable for his death somehow made him feel better. He advanced toward him as the others already had, rope in his hands.

"I hope you feel good about this," Ash remarked as the red-haired grunt jerked Ash's arms behind him.

"I will soon enough," mumbled the grunt as he began to wrap the rope around Ash's wrists, "because I'm gonna get you guys out of here."

"Go to he- wait, what did you just say_?" _Ash said.

"I said," mumbled the grunt, who glanced at Jasper still on his phone, "I'm getting you out of this. Just shut up, don't move, and wait for my signal. You'll know what it is when you see it." He walked away, leaving Ash to mull over what he had said. Didn't he recognize that voice?

He looked over at Brock and Dawn, whose heads were drooping in anguish as the grunts, who didn't seem as if they had heard the other grunt, continued to tie the ropes around their wrists. It was then that Ash realized that the rope around his own wrists was loose. Much too loose. He could easily slip his wrists out of the rope, but should he?

And for that matter, was this guy even serious? Was he seriously going to get him and his friends out of this, or was he giving him false hope before he died? He stole another glance at the red-haired grunt, whose back was to him, and suddenly everything clicked. The red hair, the voice, the loose ropes, and the promise to get him out, all of a sudden it made perfect sense.

It was Lance, the dragon master from Johto. And he was very, very serious.

Jasper was now staring at his phone as if he were waiting for it to do something. Ash saw Brock from the corner of his eye, struggling to grab his knife from his belt.

"Brock," he hissed. Brock turned his head to Ash, who was shaking his head as he motioned toward his knife.

"Why not?" whispered Brock, "why shouldn't I-"

"QUIET!" roared one of the grunts. Jasper didn't break his stare with his phone.

There was silence among the seven of them, and all of them except for Lance were staring at Jasper, who was still staring at his phone. "_What the hell's your problem?" _Ash angrily thought, "_Need to pretty yourself up before killing us?"_

A voice was then heard from Jasper's phone. "Jasper?" said the voice, which Ash immediately recognized to be as Laina's. "Jasper, what're you-"

"LAINA!" shouted Jasper, who was still holding his phone in the air.

"_Must be a video call," _thought Ash.

"LAINA, WE GOT 'EM" Jasper continued, "We found the bastards!" He then moved the phone so that the camera was pointing at Ash, clearly helpless as Jasper and the other grunts were whooping and cheering, celebrating their prized capture.

Laina wasn't as excited, however. "How do we know he even has the egg?" she asked, "for all we know, he ditched it somewhere and he doesn't have it."

Jasper's triumphant look quickly faded, but remained smug. "I'll guess we'll find out soon enough." He said with an evil grin. He ended the call and shoved the phone in his back pocket before turning to Ash.

Ash flexed his muscles to make it look like he was struggling. "_Give him what he wants," _thought Ash, "_'cause you don't know what's coming!"_

"Now," said Jasper, who was again advancing toward Ash, "I trust that you have something that we're looking for?" Ash didn't know what he should say. "_Should I play dumb, or do I come clean?"_

He didn't waste any time trying to think about it. "In my backpack," he said, "front pocket, left side."

Lance, still in his guise, walked up to Ash and frisked him, taking his knife, which was in his belt, and pocketing it, not saying a word to him. Ash eyed him as he removed his backpack from his back, but did not return the glance.

He walked away as he was rummaging in his backpack for the egg. He showed no change of emotion as he pulled the egg from his backpack and handed it to Jasper. Jasper then tucked it under his arm as he pulled a pistol from his hip.

Ash shot an alarmed glance to Lance, who still refused to look at him back. "_What the hell are you gonna do?" _he thought, "_how am I supposed to know what to do if you haven't even told me? You never even told me if you're actually Lance!" _He resolved then that it wasn't actually Lance – that this was just some look alike, who gave him false hope, who wasn't really going to save his life.

He looked over at Dawn, who was still crying but otherwise looked unafraid. Brock continued to struggle with the rope that kept his hands tied, but to no avail. Pikachu still lay behind him, unconscious. "_I'm sorry,"_ Ash thought, "_all of you. I'm sorry."_

"Now, then," sneered Jasper, "since we have the egg out of the way." He smiled as he pointed his pistol at Ash's forehead. Lance was still unmoving, staring at Jasper, waiting for him to make his move. Ash closed his eyes, ready and waiting for Death's open arms.

He heard the gunshot, but he didn't feel pain. Did he die? He opened his eyes to find himself in the same location, but Lance had his gun pointed at one of the grunts, who lay on the ground. Dead.

New hope had surged into Ash, his hopes for survival suddenly uplifted. Jasper had whipped his gun toward Lance, who was plunging Ash's knife into the second grunt's heart. Ash, realizing what was going on, quickly slipped his hands out of the loose rope and threw himself on top of Jasper, sending him to the ground as the egg and Jasper's gun flew from his grip.

Ash could have picked up Jasper's gun to finish him off, but quickly decided not to. He'd be damned if he was going to kill again. Instead, he dealt a few punches to Jasper's eye, but Jasper pulled a hidden knife from his pocket and slashed it across Ash's face before dealing a punch of his own, knocking him to the ground as Lance was cutting the rope off of Dawn's wrists with Ash's knife.

Jasper was now standing over Ash, bloody knife still in hand. Ash saw Dawn running up to them, clutching the wood axe. Just before Jasper was able to drive his knife into Ash's chest, Dawn swung the axe into Jasper's shoulder, causing him to cry out in agonizing pain.

Ash took the opportunity to kick Jasper in the stomach, causing him to twirl and fall face first onto the ground. Before he could turn himself over, Ash ripped the axe from Jasper's shoulder and hit Jasper in the side of the head with the blunt end of the axe, effectively rendering him unconscious.

Ash stood up and turned around to survey the scene. Brock held the unconscious Pikachu in his arms as he ran towards the egg, which had somehow survived the fall from Jasper's arms. Dawn was staring at Lance, who put his pistol back into his holster. The two grunts lay dead next to each other, face down in a pile of red snow and slush.

It was Dawn that broke the silence. "Is he…dead?"

"Knocked out," said Ash, "but that wound doesn't help any."

"C'mon," said Lance, "we need to get the hell out of here."

"Why?" Dawn asked, "Are there any more of them nearby?"

"No," responded Lance as he handed the knife back to Ash, "but their phones pick up the sound of gunshots and broadcast it to Headquarters. After what just happened, they'll be swooping in any minute. Let's go!"

Ash was grabbing for their bags when Dawn said, "Would you at least tell me who you are?"

"Name's Lance," he responded, "pleasure to meet you."

"_Sure doesn't sound like it," _thought Ash. They picked up their bags and began jogging away from the murder scene, leaving behind Jasper's pistol and knife. Dawn didn't ask any more questions, although Ash was sure that she was dying to ask them.

They didn't stop moving until Lance said that they were far enough from the bodies. By this point, Dawn was ready to pass out from exhaustion.

"You OK?" asked Lance as he tossed a water bottle to Dawn. She nodded as she gulped the water sloppily, water spilling down her chin as Lance chuckled.

"Now that we're all safe and sound," Brock interjected, "I think it's time for introductions. Dawn, this is Lance Luxforde, from Johto. Lance, this is Dawn."

Lance nodded as Dawn looked at Lance with wonder. "Wait, you're _the _Lance Luxforde, the Pokémon master?"

"Yep," said Lance nonchalantly, "well, at least I was."

"Wait," said Brock, "what do you mean, was?"

"What I mean is that I left after Team Rocket took over Johto with some bullshit about 'eliminating the tyranny that is Pokémon training.'"

The shock of having learned that Johto was also invaded struck the trainers, Ash particularly. "They took over Johto, too?"

"Not just Johto and Sinnoh," Lance responded grimly, "but pretty much the rest of the world." The expressions of shock grew on everyone's faces. "First it was Kanto, that was a year ago. Then-"

"A year ago?" shouted Ash. "Why in the hell didn't we know about this?"

"Censorship." Lance bluntly replied. "They took control of all forms of communication – telephone, mail…anyways, they intercepted any form of communication and manipulated it to make it seem like nothing was happening."

"So you're telling me that whenever my mother called me or wrote me in the past year, it wasn't actually her?"

"That's right," said Lance, "she's either dead or in hiding, like everyone else in Kanto." Ash buried his head in his hands, unable to bear the thought of her mother being dead, like so many others.

"Which, thanks to Team Rocket," Lance continued, "isn't even called Kanto anymore. Now it's the Eastern Sector of the Rocket Empire."

"And what about the other regions?" asked Dawn.

"Well," explained Lance, "Johto is directly connected to Kanto, so they were overtaken a few weeks after Kanto. That was when I got my ass out and into Hoenn. I was safe there for a while, but then about a month ago they were invaded. It was then that I assumed a false identity and 'joined' the Rocket Empire. Hoenn's the Southern Sector of the Empire."

"Why'd they wait so long to move onto Hoenn?" asked Brock.

"From what I was told," said Lance, "somehow they found out about what was going on in Johto and Kanto. They were taken over not even two days later."

Ash suddenly remembered about one of his friends. "Wait, Lance, do you know what happened to Misty, the gym leader in Cerulean?"

Lance was silent for far too long, suddenly looking melancholy. "No," said Ash, "Lance, please, no!"

"Ash, I- I'm sorry, but she...well, all of the League officials were targeted in the days after the initial invasion. She…she was one of the first that, um, well, you know…"

He nodded in understanding, letting the truth sink in. Misty, one of his best friends for the longest time, was dead, and for what? So this 'Rocket Empire' could have their precious little land?

"Wait a minute," said Brock, anxiety flooding his voice, "my family was running the gym in Pewter City. Don't tell me that they're…"

"From what I heard, they went missing the day of the invasion. That's all that was ever heard of them, but the other League officials from the region were all confirmed dead."

"Except for you," Dawn pointed out.

Lance nodded slowly. "Except for me."

They were all silent for several minutes, no one having anything to say to each other. Ash was going to ask Brock about Pikachu, but before he could Lance hissed, "Get down!"

They all did so, Brock and Dawn hiding behind a bush and Ash and Lance each took refuge behind a tree. Lance poked his head out to see what it was.

"There's two more of those grunts out there." He said. Ash decided to poke his head out and see for himself. Sure enough, there were two of the gray jump suited grunts, both of them holding some sort of radar device.

"_Who would they be tracking?" _Ash thought to himself. For them? For the dead grunts? He thought about the phones that picked up the surrounding noise. "_Wait a minute, Lance was with them. Wouldn't he have the same phone that the others had?"_

"Lance," he whispered. He turned his head toward Ash. "Your phone," he hissed, "I think they're tracking it."

It took Lance all of his self-control not to shout every kind of curse word he could imagine. How could he have been so stupid, to leave his phone, fully accessible by Team Rocket, where everyone at HQ could see where he was?

Lance removed his phone from his pocket and stomped on it, crushing it to pieces. From the distance, a faint, "Hey, where'd it go?" could be heard. "_So they were tracking us," _thought Ash. Lance wordlessly pulled out his gun and shot the two grunts dead.

"What the hell?" Ash hissed, "you couldn't just let them live?"

"No way," Lance returned, "not these guys. Move!"

They picked up their bags and kept on walking, none of them saying a word to each other. Ash had the events of the past two days reeling in his head like a film. The invasion, him killing the grunt, Dawn being stabbed, them almost being shot, Lance coming in…

And then there was Dawn, swinging that axe into Jasper's shoulder, administering a potentially fatal wound. Just a day earlier, Dawn had been objecting to any kind of violence against others, even if their life depended on it. And now she had done just that.

"Hey, Dawn?" Ash said. Dawn, who was walking ahead of him, slowed down to be walking next to Ash.

"Yeah?"

"Um, well I just wanted to say thanks, for the thing with the axe. Earlier, I mean."

"It wasn't much," mumbled Dawn, "I-"

"No, what you did was amazing!" Ash said, "yesterday you wouldn't harm a fly, and you nearly killed that guy today!"

"It was only to save your life," Dawn objected, "I would never do it out of cold blood, like Lance did." She lowered her voice to a whisper. "I'm not sure if I even like him. How do you know we can trust him?"

"We've known him for a really long time," Ash said. "Besides, if he really wasn't on our side, he wouldn't have saved our asses back there."

"Hey," said Lance from the front of the pack, "where were you guys headed?"

"Canalave," said Brock, "we were gonna try and catch a boat out of Sinnoh."

"Fat chance," said Lance, "since most of the world has gone to shit. The nearest region that's not under control of the Rocket Empire is the Orange Islands. But boats from there rarely made stops in Sinnoh, and they sure as hell won't now."

"There isn't _anything _going to Kanto?" asked Brock, "it's very important that we get there."

Lance stopped walking and turned to face Brock. "Look," Lance said, "I'm sorry that I can't tell you anything about your family. Really, I am. But I can't let you go off and try and find your parents. There's no guarantee that you'd make it out of Sinnoh, or into Kanto, or what you'd find there. It's simply too dangerous, you'd-"

"THAT'S EASY FOR YOU TO SAY!" shouted Brock, "YOUR FAMILY ISN'T PROBABLY DEAD SOMEWHERE, I CAN'T JUST HANG AROUND HERE AND HOPE THAT THEY'RE ALIVE!"

"My family _is _dead," Lance said calmly, "and it hurts to say it, but you'd be better off assuming that your family is, too. You're safer with us than anywhere else."

"Well if we're stuck here," said Ash, "then what's the plan exactly?"

"I don't know what you guys are thinking," Lance said, "but the only thing we can really do now is stay in hiding. As for myself, I'm not sure where I'm going.

"Well," said Brock, his anger having subsided, "why don't you stay with us?"

"NO!" Dawn objected, "I'm sorry, but I don't think I can trust him. How do we know he actually isn't with this 'Rocket Empire'?"

"Because if I was," Lance responded, "I would've let you die back there."

"Yeah, Dawn," said Ash, "besides, we need him."

"For what?" she cried, "to make a bigger dent in our food supply while we wait to get shot by these guys?"

"That's not gonna happen if I'm around," said Lance. "Besides, I can teach you stuff. Hunting, shooting, things like that. Stuff that you would need to know to survive if I wasn't here."

"We need him for protection, too," said Ash, "because I'm not sure I can do that part on my own." Dawn didn't say anything. She couldn't; she didn't have any other reason why Lance shouldn't stay with them. "It's settled, then. He's staying with us."


	11. Chapter 11

_November 15_

Jasper couldn't remember where he was when he woke up. He felt a throbbing pain in the side of his head, and he felt warm blood dripping from his cheek. He tried to get up, but he couldn't, for an erupting pain in his shoulder kept him down, along with the straps that kept him on the gurney.

"_Wait a minute," _thought Jasper, "_what the hell am I doing on a gurney?"_

There was a loud _whirring _sound that Jasper couldn't identify. He barely had the strength to move his head to the left, to see if he could remember where he was. He laid his eyes on two of his dead grunts, who lay on top of each other. "_Where's the third one?" _he thought, "_I swore there were three grunts with me."_

It was then that he had remembered what had happened. How 'Xander' had betrayed the search party and left Jasper for dead, taking those trainers with him. And it was those same trainers that nearly killed him with that damned axe.

"Sir," shouted a voice, "are you alright?"

He looked up to see another grunt, one that he recognized from the Medical Department, standing over him as a helicopter was hovering overhead. "I think so," murmured Jasper, but the Medic couldn't hear him over the _whirring_ sound, which grew ever louder.

"We're having you airlifted to Headquarters!" shouted the grunt, "you're gonna need some serious surgery done on that shoulder, and you may have a concussion, but we think you're gonna be okay!"

"_Who's we?" _thought Jasper, "_you're the only one here."_ But then he saw more grunts, both on the ground and in the helicopter. The grunts in the helicopter were dropping down some sort of thick cable that Jasper couldn't identify, while the grunts on the ground attached to the corners of Jasper's gurney.

The grunts in the helicopter began winding in the cables, making Jasper's gurney rise into the air as it made its way into the hovering helicopter. The last thing he saw before he blacked out again was the grunts on the ground sealing the bodies of the dead grunts into black body bags.

* * *

Jasper was still on the gurney when he came to, but he was being wheeled down a bright hallway rather quickly. Instead of the Medic Grunts attending to him, he was now supervised by a team of surgeons in sky blue robes.

Jasper tried to say something, say anything in order to figure out just what was going on, but all he could do was moan something that the surgeons couldn't cipher.

"Get some more anesthesia in him!" said one of the surgeons. Jasper wanted to object, but before he could he felt the prick of a Sleeping Syringe in his right forearm. Whatever he was moaning before was nothing but silence now as he slipped under once more.

* * *

When Jasper fully regained consciousness, he was sitting upright in what looked like a hospital ward. Wires were protruding from his arm, and, alarmingly, he could only see out of one eye. He lifted his other arm to his face and was slightly relieved to feel coarse bandages wrapped around one side of his head. He was no longer in his light-gray jumpsuit, but a simple blue hospital gown. The thought of someone undressing him as he was knocked out unsettled him.

A nurse walked into the room at that moment. Jasper noticed her as she kept walking past him. "Excuse me, ma'am," said Jasper as the nurse noticed that Jasper had woken.

"Yes?" inquired the nurse.

"Would you mind filling me in on exactly what happened?" asked Jasper, "you know, during the…surgery?"

"I wasn't present during the surgery, but I can fetch Dr. Morstone for you. He was the surgeon who operated on you. He's the senior surgeon for the Empire in this sector."

Jasper nodded as the nurse walked away. He was the only one in the room now; all of the other hospital beds were empty. He replayed in his head the events from earlier. Xander, or whatever his real name was, shot the first grunt dead. Then he was tackled by Ash. He almost had him, but then that bitch lodged the axe in his shoulder, and that was all he could remember.

Jasper realized that that had happened this morning, not much past 8 AM. He looked at the clock at the end of the room to see that it was close to 3 PM. "_Seven hours seems a little long to be airlifted to a hospital and be operated on," _thought Jasper, "_but I'm no surgeon. Who knows how long that operation took!"_

The doctor walked in through the doors with sheets of paper underneath his arms. "Hello, Jasper," he said, "it's good to see that you're awake. I'm Dr. Morstone, senior surgeon of the Northern Sector." He looked jovial, almost as if he wasn't affiliated with an evil crime syndicate turned government.

"I've heard," mumbled Jasper, "so exactly what happened during the procedure?"

The Doctor's jovial expression quickly turned to one of seriousness. "Well," he began, "we began with the injuries to your head. It was a rather simple fix, just some stitches under your eye and painkillers for the head pain. There wasn't anything we could do for the concussion once you got here, however."

Jasper nodded. "And my shoulder?"

The Doctor sighed. "That's where things get complicated." He sorted through the X-rays until he found the one that he was looking for, which detailed Jasper's mangled shoulder. "As you can see, the impact from whatever hit you shattered the clavicle right in two. But the magnitude of the strike also damaged several of the other bones nearby, including the scapula."

"So what did you do then, exactly?" asked Jasper, who was unfazed by the sound of his injury.

"In order to optimize the quickest recovery possible, we had to transplant both of those bones with metal replacements. Consider it a full-blown shoulder transplant, except for a few bones that weren't harmed in the impact." The Doctor put away the X-rays and then turned back to Jasper. "You're gonna be incapacitated for the next few days before you can possibly get back to work."

"No, that can't happen!" Jasper angrily shouted, "I can't stay out that long! I don't care if you have to wheel this damn bed into my office, I need to work, the Empire depends on it!"

The Doctor refused to be intimidated by Jasper's attitude. "I'm sorry sir," he said sternly, "but early release from the hospital could hinder your recovery and lead to more complications."

Jasper wanted so badly to just off this man right here, right now, but knew that he couldn't, nor shouldn't. Even though it killed him to hold in his anger, he managed to do so. "Bring me Laina," he muttered, "from the Executive Office." The Doctor stared at him blankly, not knowing who Laina was.

"NOW!" shouted Jasper. The Doctor ran from the room in a hurry, not knowing who Laina was but knowing that she would be in the Executive Office.

* * *

Laina had been practically glued to her phone all day, trying to find any information she could about the dead grunts. She didn't even know if any of this true; she had heard a rumor that a group of Rocket grunts were found dead outside of Solaceon Town. None of the other grunts had paid much attention to the news, but Laina, worried that Jasper could have been among them, phoned him in desperation, but to no avail.

The fear and desperation became intensified when she phoned the other members of Jasper's search party to see that _they_ weren't picking up, either. Laina went from desperation to panic, phoning anyone and everyone to see if they had heard from them. "_Jasper was supposed to call once he killed those kids," _she thought, "_why hasn't he called back?"_

At that moment, someone came bursting through the doors of the Executive Office, shouting her name. "Laina?" the man shouted, "Where's Laina? Is Laina in here?"

Laina pushed her way through the other grunts in the office, making her way toward the man. "What's the problem?" she asked when she finally got to him.

The Doctor looked worried. "Ma'am, someone named Jasper is in the hospital, he wants to-"

Laina had bolted past the doctor and into the nearest elevator before The Doctor could even finish his sentence. She mashed the button that would take her to the basement, which is where the hospital was. Well, the in-Headquarters hospital anyways, which was reserved for Rocket Grunts. She thought about the time she went to the one in Johto, for a sprained ankle on the job.

Her mind jumped back to Jasper as the elevator _dinged _and the doors slid open to reveal the main lobby of the hospital. "Where's Jasper?" she shouted as soon as the nurse at the front desk noticed her.

"Jasper, the Executive Leader?" asked one of the nurses.

"No, Jasper the Eight-horned Rhydon!" Laina sarcastically retorted, "where the hell is he?"

The nurse immediately thumbed through the patient information, trying to find the profile that belonged to Jasper. "Surgical Center, East Wing, Room 120" said the nurse when the nurse finally found it.

Laina brushed past the nurse and into the Surgical Center, which lay directly to her left. The hallway that she was in housed the rooms that began in the 100s, so Laina knew she was in the right hallway. She jogged down the hallway, eyeing each room number as she passed it. "_114….116….118….120! I found it!"_

When she entered the room, Jasper was looking at her behind a head that was half-covered in bandages. "Hey," he said calmly, as if nothing had happened.

"What the hell happened?" Laina asked hysterically, "your face, it's…it's…"

"Fine," replied Jasper, "just a concussion, and some stitches. But don't worry about me, we need to talk."

Laina brushed past Jasper's calmness. "How did this happen? Who did this to you?"

"I told you not to worry, Laina!" Jasper was visibly annoyed with Laina now.

Laina's mind jumped to Ash, and how she had warned Jasper about him the day before. "Jasper, don't tell me that it was Ash, don't tell me that he did this!"

Jasper breathed deeply, which Laina took as a "Yes." "What the hell!" Laina shouted, "When you called me you had him! How the hell did he get away?"

"One of the guys in our search party turned out to be a traitor," said Jasper, "He killed the two other guys."

"Traitor?" said Laina, acting as if she had never heard the word before, "what was this guy's name? And I heard there were four dead grunts!"

"He was calling himself Xander," said Jasper, "but it's kinda obvious that that's not his name. I'm not sure what you heard about four dead grunts, but from my search party there were only two deaths."

Laina didn't hear that last part, because she was pulling out her laptop from the moment she heard the name 'Xander'. She quickly opened it up and opened the Rocket database, which held information on every single grunt employed in the Empire. She typed in 'Xander' and immediately came up with one query before she could type in a surname.

As soon as she pulled up Xander's profile she could immediately tell that this man was no 'Xander', but Lance Luxforde, the dragon master from the Western Sector. His red hair and intimidating stare gave it away much too easily. How had Jasper not recognized him before?

"Looks like you're right," said Laina, showing Jasper the false profile. Jasper took one look at it and nearly punched the screen with his good arm in rage. Laina couldn't blame him; if she found out that a world famous trainer severely injured you and made the head of the world's largest government look like a complete chump, she'd be pretty pissed too.

"Alright," said Jasper when he calmed himself, "we can just add him to the Wanted list with those other kids. Speaking of that, though, we needed to talk about the bounty, and a few other things."

Laina pulled up a chair next to Jasper's bed and sat down. "Shoot," she said.

It took Jasper a few seconds to begin speaking. "The only people that are looking for these guys are our search parties. I don't think the bounty that we set yesterday is enough, because we can't get the people to get out and look!"

Laina wasn't surprised by Jasper's insistence. He had been going crazy over this egg, and he would do anything to get it, whether those kids were dead or alive in the end. "Is that really necessary?" she asked, "it took us not even a day to find them beforehand, what's the point of raising it now? It's not like it'll be any easier."

"But now we _know _that they're armed," Jasper explained, "and that we alone can't easily take them down. Which leads me to my next point. How many grunts are in each search party?"

"Two, sometimes four," answered Laina, "but I'm not sure if that has to do with-"

"We're doubling it," interrupted Jasper, "Now it's eight to a group, and no less!"

Laina couldn't believe Jasper's ridiculous requests. "How is any of this supposed to help the search when it's going fine as it is?" she cried.

"That's what you don't understand, Laina!" shouted Jasper, "it's not going fine! They've killed five people now, and having Lance with them doesn't make it any better. I said that we'd kill them and get the egg in a week, and I don't intend on breaking my word!"

Laina knew, much like everyone else, that it was near suicide to get on Jasper's bad side. At that point, however, she simply didn't care; he was being erratic, much too erratic for her to let it go. "I told you that this kid was dangerous, and you didn't listen! And now even after being almost killed you're chasing after him even more obsessively before! There's other work to do besides finding this goddam egg!"

"But there are priorities, Laina," shouted Jasper, "and this is our number one priority! So don't yell at me like I'm some basket case, because it's my assertion that's gonna get this job done, with or without your help!"

Laina was silent. She knew at this point that Jasper couldn't be any angrier without going on a potentially deadly rampage, whether he was injured or not.

But Jasper wasn't done. "You are to put out the order for an increased bounty of $ 100,000 on those trainers, and a bounty for Lance, also for $100,000. You are also to order _all _search parties to double up with the nearest search party in their area and to stick together. Is this understood?"

Laina nodded out of fear rather than understanding. "Good," said Jasper, who suddenly became much calmer, "now, if you'll excuse me, I think I'm going to take a nap. I trust you know your way back to your office?"

* * *

"….and you want to be absolutely still, else you'll scare it away. It doesn't help that your clothing isn't camouflaged, they'll bolt on sight if you aren't still enough."

"But what're we gonna use against it?"

"I was getting to that. The gun will make too much noise, and I wouldn't recommend using that axe, as much as it helped. You'll have to do with your knife. Ash, are you listening?"

Ash was sorting what was left of the unpacked supplies as Lance was lecturing Brock and Dawn about hunting wild game. He was listening in on his lecture, but to be honest he found it hard to pay attention. "Yeah," he lied, "I'm listening."

Lance looked over his shoulder toward Ash. "What are you doing, anyways?"

"Packing all of this stuff," Ash replied, "I've barely had enough time in the past day to spend enough time doing it."

Lance chuckled as he dug around in his pocket. "After you see this, you'll wish you didn't have any time at all." He unearthed from his pocket a handful of Poké Balls; how many there were Ash had no idea, but there was definitely way more than six, which was the limit for a trainer's team.

He threw one of the Poké Balls at the pile of supplies that Ash hadn't packed. The Poké Ball emitted a red beam that, once it made contact with the supplies, transformed it into a red cloud of gas as it was sucked into the Poké Ball.

"I thought that only worked on Pokémon," commented Brock.

"So did I," said Lance as he tossed the Poké Ball to Ash. "I discovered it on accident a few months back. As far as I know, I'm the only one that knows about it."

Dawn didn't look particularly impressed. "Come on, Brock" she said curtly, "let's go hunting."

Lance grinned as he turned to Dawn. "No need to be so eager," he said, tossing her a walkie-talkie. "Use this to talk to us if something happens. Try to find a source of water while you're out there, we're running low."

Dawn shot Lance a mean look as she and Brock walked off, leaving Ash alone with Lance and Pikachu, who was still unconscious.

"While they're gone, I'm gonna teach you how to fire a gun," Lance said when they were out of earshot.

"Do I really need to be taught to use a gun?" asked Ash, "I mean, it can't be that hard, right?"

"That's where you're wrong," Lance replied. "There's a lot more to using a gun than just pulling the trigger." He walked over to a mud puddle and dipped his finger in it before smearing a dot the size of a quarter on a nearby tree."

"Here," said Lance, slapping a pistol he pulled from his backpack in Ash's hand, "try to hit that target from where you're standing."

Ash looked perplexedly at the gun. "Won't it make a lot of noise?" he asked, "I thought the point of going into hiding was to not attract attention."

"This one's silenced," Lance assured. "I kept it hidden, because the grunts used un-silenced guns, and using this one would have made them suspicious."

Ash nodded as he aimed the gun at the mud target. He held his finger over the trigger, waiting until he was sure his aim on the target was perfect. Once he had his aim down, however, he didn't fire. He continued to keep his gun raised, but he couldn't pull the trigger.

"Well?" said Lance.

Ash lowered his gun. "Would you have blown your cover? If it wasn't us, I mean?"

Lance looked confused. "What do you mean?"

"What if you hadn't found me and Brock and Dawn this morning, if it was just some group of trainers that you had never met before in your life. Would you have blown your cover for them? "

Lance stared off into space for far too long before slowly shaking his head. "No, I…I don't think I would've. Jasper-he's the leader of the Empire- he was on-

"Jasper?" inquired Ash, "I thought Giovanni was the head of Team Rocket."

"Yeah, he _was_," said Lance. "But he died a few years ago, and his son was supposed to take over as the leader. But he practically vanished off the face of the earth, so without a leader Team Rocket collapsed."

"But how'd they come back?"

"No one knows. They took over Kanto one day with no warning that they even still existed. The only thing that was different was that Jasper was acting as the Head. Anyways, he was on the search with us, and was going on nonstop about finding you, and something about some egg."

Ash pulled the egg from his backpack and handed it to Lance. "Yeah, this one," he said.

Lance raised his eyebrows when Ash handed him the egg. He observed it for a few moments, seemingly mesmerized by the sight of it. "I'm not sure exactly what this is," said Lance, "but it's pretty damn strange, that's for sure."

Ash looked back at the target, and raised the gun and aimed for it, firing after a few seconds. The bullet landed just outside the edge of the target.

He was somewhat disappointed, but Lance was beaming. "Not bad for a first shot!" he exclaimed. He was going to tell Ash to shoot again, but at that moment his walkie talkie buzzed.

"_Ash?" _said Dawn's voice, "_Ash, are you there?"_

Lance tossed the walkie talkie to Ash. "What happened?" asked Ash, "did you find any water?"

"No water," said Dawn, "but Brock found a patch of Chesto berries. We might be able to use them to wake Pikachu."

"That might work," said Ash, "we're coming over there."

Lance grabbed the walkie talkie from Ash. "But don't move," he said, "just stay there."

Dawn didn't answer back, obviously disdained at having heard Lance's voice. "She's moody, that one is," said Lance when they began walking in the direction that Brock and Dawn went.

"I can't blame her," said Ash as he slung the limp Pikachu over his shoulder, "she's scared for her freaking life."

"And you're not?"

Ash didn't immediately respond. Was he scared? Was he honestly scared at the thought of death, or being captured, or both?

"Well, I am a little," he finally responded, "but not of dying. I guess it's the thought of dying for no reason."

"I'm not sure I follow."

Ash sighed. "Let's say they find us and kill us."

"How lovely," interrupted Lance.

Ash went on. "Anyways, to make a long story short, I guess I'm scared of dying while the Rocket Empire is still around. If I have to die, I want to be able to say that I tried to do something about this, that I went down with a fight."

Lance nodded in understanding. "You can't say that you haven't done something. You were a big help earlier with Jasper and those other grunts."

Ash's mind jumped back to the grunts that Lance had killed, and shivered. "I only knocked one guy out," Ash pointed out, "you did pretty much everything else, including killing those grunts in cold blood." Ash paused. "Don't you feel guilty? About killing?"

"I've done a lot of killing in the past year," said Lance, "and to be honest, I don't think that I'm affected by that sort of thing anymore."

Ash looked at him as they continued their walk. "So you don't feel any guilt over killing? Or anything at all?"

Lance sighed. "Sometimes I might be a bit remorseful. Maybe I'll even feel sorry from time to time. But usually…there's nothing."

They walked in silence for the next few minutes. Ash thought of Lance in a different light now. He didn't exactly see him as a cold-hearted killer now, but he definitely wasn't the dragon-taming hero that he once knew.

"Let me put it this way," said Lance, breaking the silence. "You can't feel sorry for killing, not in this world. These grunts, well, they might not deserve to die, but when it comes to _your _life, you can't take a chance with letting them live. The way I see it is that I'm getting revenge."

"Revenge?" asked Ash.

"Revenge. For what they've caused. What they've done."

Ash had to admit that he had a point. "Well, anyways," he said, wanting to change the subject, "my point about dying is that I don't want to die if I haven't tried to stand up to these guys before they kill me in cold blood."

"So…what are you saying?"

"That if I have to die, I want to die after I've tried to take down this Empire."

Lance fell silent. Then he slowly nodded, saying, "I think we might do something about that."

**Hey guys! I really hoped you liked this chapter. I tried to make it high-octane without and bits of huge action like the last chapter. Let me know what you think of it in the reviews. The next chapter **_**might **_**be out a little bit later than normal, because I've been slammed with a bunch of projects and hoework at school, so I'm gonna be busy with that. Thanks for reading!**


	12. Chapter 12

_November 15_

Ash tried to crush the Chesto Berry with his bare hands, but couldn't penetrate its thick shell. He had to hammer it a few times against a nearby tree to break it open.

"I hope this works," said Dawn, wringing her hands in anxiety.

"It will," assured Lance. Dawn grunted as she turned away from him.

Brock sighed in exasperation. "Can't you two just get along?"

"I have every reason to not trust him," Dawn argued. "Sure, he saved our lives, but I've never met him before. Even if you guys have, and even if you guys knew him, who's to say he still isn't with the Rocket Empire and is just luring us into some other trap?"

"You have a point," said Lance. His agreement with Dawn surprised the others. "There's no way that I can prove I'm on your side. But there's no way that I can prove I'm on _their _side either."

Dawn still didn't look too friendly. "OK, if I shouldn't consider you one of them, why should I consider you one of us?"

Ash and Brock both shouted, "DAWN!" at the same time, the two of them taken aback by Dawn's rudeness. Lance, however, only grinned. "You'll get used to it," he said.

Dawn didn't change her rude expression, even after the boys' reprimanding. "Would it at least kill you to change out of that uniform?" She pointed to Lance's Rocket uniform, which he hadn't taken off.

Lance chuckled as he pulled out one of his Poké Balls and threw it, which unleashed a pile of supplies ranging from clothes to food to who else knew what. He grabbed from the pile a bundle of clothes, and then hid behind a tree so he could change.

Ash then took the dry berry residue and rubbed it between his fingers under Pikachu's nose, hoping that the scent could possibly revive him. The residue turned into a powder as he gradually wore away at it, the dust having either flown into Pikachu's nose or into the open air, never to be salvaged again. He went on with this for a full minute, wearing away at the powder until all of it was used up.

Once he ran out of the berry powder, Ash stared longingly at Pikachu, clinging onto diminishing hope that the powder would somehow wake him up. When he didn't he looked over at Dawn, who was shaking her head sadly. He turned then back to Pikachu to see that his nose was twitching.

"Dawn, gimme the rest of those berries!" exclaimed Ash. Dawn shoved the berries into Ash's hands, and Ash then crushed several of them at a time, nearly breaking his hand in the process. The hard shell of the berries cracked open, letting the dry berry powder fall into his hands.

He walked back to Pikachu's body and rubbed the powder between his hands much more vigorously than before, determined that using enough of the powder would eventually wake him up. He had already made his nose twitch, couldn't he make him conscious?

"Ash, it's not gonna work," said Dawn remorsefully, "it won't-"

"It has to work!" cried Ash. Lance was popping his head from behind the tree, seeing what was the matter. He rubbed away at his hands until he could feel the powder filling in newly opened blisters. When he had exhausted what was left of the powder, he looked at Pikachu, who at first still lay unmoving, but then slowly fluttered his eyes open.

Ash sobbed in relief, thankful that Pikachu was awake, and alive for that matter. "Are you alright?" Ash asked through his sobs.

Pikachu looked dazed, yet drew a sly grin on his face. "Pik_aaaa_," he mumbled as he stood up.

Ash was going to say something about being worried about him, but before he could he felt a rushing force, some sort of supernatural wave wash over him. He registered that it was the Aura before he lost all sense of consciousness.

He found himself staring down at a wide river, flowing elegantly as it snaked and winded its way across the ground. Between him and the river was a steep hill, made of the same dirt and foliage as the forest that they were travelling through. He turned his head to see that this steep hill stretched as far as the eye can see in both directions. It'd be hard to navigate that hill down to the river without slipping and falling…

The scene flashed away, leaving him not in some other vision, but with nothing. Everything was pitch black; Ash couldn't see anything. That's when he realized that he was able to _feel _something smushed against his face. Dirt. Ash wasn't able to physically feel anything when he was in Aura, so he had to be back in reality.

"Ash?"

He lifted his head up to see everyone standing over him, worried expressions on their faces. Wait a minute, where was Lance? That was when he realized that a splotch of dirt was covering his right eye. Ash wiped the dirt away to reveal Lance, who had changed from his Rocket uniform into his signature outfit, which consisted of a navy blue jumpsuit with red lining down the chest, as well as a black and red silk cape.

"Even you're on the run for your life, you're still wearing that stupid ass cape?" said Ash, smirking.

Lance wasn't amused. "What the hell just happened?" he said sternly. "You were having some kind of seizure, but you weren't twitching, just….shivering."

"It was the aura," Ash said as he wiped the rest of the dirt off of his face.

"Aura?" replied Dawn, "what's that?"

"It's this thing that lets him have these weird visions into the future," Brock explained.

"What was it that you saw?" asked Lance, "anything important?"

"You'd think it would be," said Ash. "No, just some stupid shot of this river. Nothing important at all."

"Maybe there's water nearby," Dawn suggested, "or some other path we can take." Pikachu nodded in agreement.

Lance grinned. "You're stranger than I thought, kid," he said as he helped Ash to his feet. "Let's settle in for the night, it's starting to get late." He turned away before saying, "Oh, and my cape isn't stupid."

Ash chuckled. "Why would you still wear it, though?"

"Sometimes, I feel like it's the only part of 'me' that I have left. Besides, it's more durable than you think. Makes for a decent blanket, too." He grabbed for his Poké Balls as he said, "Any of you have a Pokémon that can make a fire?"

Ash and Dawn both shook their heads, both of them struck by the newly renewed pain of having lost their Pokémon.

Lance smiled. "You're in luck," he said. Of the Poké Balls that were in the palm of his hand, he picked out four of them and threw them into the air. They shot open as they spit out red beams of light, which eventually transformed into Lance's Pokémon.

Of the four Pokémon that stood before him, Ash only knew one of them, which was his Dragonite. He knew what the other two were, an Altaria and a Camerupt, but he didn't recognize the last one, which looked like some sort of flying UFO. He grabbed for his Pokédex, but paused when he saw that Dawn had beaten him to it:

"_**Magnezone, the Magnet Area Pokémon. It evolves from Magneton in certain magnetic areas, and emits energy from each of its three magnets."**_

"Hmm," said Brock, looking very perplexed.

"What?" Lance objected.

"You only have one Dragon type," Brock pointed out. "Why'd you switch to…these?"

"Two Dragon types," Lance corrected, "Altaria's part dragon. Desperate times call for desperate measures. My other Pokémon all died off. I had to go with these."

"I'm sorry," Dawn said, her voice filled with newfound sadness.

Lance turned to her with a stern look. "For what? It's not your fault that they're dead. You didn't kill them. So don't be sorry. Don't _ever_ be sorry." Dawn looked at Lance uneasily as he continued. "Being sorry doesn't get you anywhere. Not in this world. Not anymore." He looked at Ash, then Brock, who were both staring at Lance the same way Dawn was. "Someone get a fire going," he said as he began to walk away.

"Wait, where are you going?" Brock asked.

"I'm gonna try to find some wild game before it gets too dark," Lance replied without breaking his stride. "Magnezone, come with me. Everyone else help out the others."

"I'm going with you," Ash offered, "I haven't gotten a chance to try hunting yet."

If Lance objected to him tagging along, he didn't make it known. Instead he walked on as Ash joined him. "Brock, take my walkie talkie," said Lance as he threw it to him. Brock nodded as Ash and Lance walked away from sight, Pikachu following behind them.

When Ash and Lance were out of earshot from them, Ash said, "So I guess I'm just gonna use my knife for this?"

"No," Lance murmured, "you'll use the gun. The silenced one. You haven't been properly trained yet with the knife. The gun won't be the best hunting weapon in the world, but we might be able to nab a Rattata or two."

Ash was somewhat unsettled at the thought of eating wild Pokémon, and even more so when he thought of Pikachu eating this stuff. "Will any of the Pokémon have to eat this stuff?"

It took him a moment to answer. "Not at first," he finally said, "but once we run out of the food that you got they'll have to eat this stuff."

"Don't you feel guilty?" Ash asked, "About feeding them Pokémon? Or eating them yourself? Don't you think it's a bit cannibalistic?" He felt awkward about Pikachu listening to a conversation like this.

Lance sighed, but this time in exasperation rather than sadness. "I would," he said, "but what's the point? They have to do this, that or go hungry. Why feel guilty about something I can't control?"

Ash said nothing, letting the fact sink in that he wouldn't be the only one making sacrifices in the next few weeks. Soon, Pikachu would need to eat this wild stuff, and so would Dawn and Brock's Pokémon, who hadn't eaten in a day and a half as it was. Who knew what they were feeling, since they didn't even know what was going on?

They kept on walking through the forest, which was beginning to thin. "Looks like we're heading east," Lance commented, "that's where the open plains are." The sun's golden hue was brightening into a beaming red as it began to hide over the horizon.

"It's starting to get dark," Ash said, "we should-"

"SHHH!"

Ash and Pikachu immediately darted behind a tree to his right, fearing the worst. When Lance didn't move and nothing else happened, Ash emerged from behind the tree to find not a group of Rocket grunts, but a herd of Stantler.

"We'll be eating like kings!" Lance whispered as he handed the gun to Ash. "Okay, now just like I taught you earlier – aim right for their eye."

Ash nodded as he held the gun and aimed. The Stantler, as many as there were, were roaming around and chewing the grass, so Ash found it hard to concentrate on one spot. He tried to focus on the eye of a particularly large member of the pack, who was herding his young that were roaming off away from the others.

He must have stepped on a twig or somehow made noise, because half of the pack suddenly perked their heads up, several pairs of eyes now on him.

"Now!" murmured Lance. Ash quickly refined his aim before pulling the trigger. The bigger Stantler, the one that Ash was aiming for, fell over as a bullet crashed through his jaw while the other ones fled hastily.

"Nice shot," Lance commented, "but you didn't kill it. Look, it's still moving."

Ash looked back at the Stantler to see that Lance was right; it was struggling to get up despite the blood that was spilling from the bullet hole. He raised his gun to fire again, but Lance held up his hand to signal him not to. "Give me your knife," he said instead.

"My knife?" asked Ash. "_Why would he need my knife?"_

"Yes, your knife." Ash handed his knife to Lance, who then walked up to the floundering Stantler. Ash realized what Lance was about to do a second before he did it. He turned away just before he heard the scream of the dying Pokémon as Lance slit its throat. The sight of blood spewing from the dead Stantler reminded Ash of the Rocket grunt that he had killed the day before, and he started feeling sick to his stomach.

"We can take this back to camp," he heard Lance say, "and there I'll show you how to-"

He didn't hear anything else after that, because by this point he was on his knees, puking his guts out as his head was filled with renewed thoughts of the grunt he killed, and of the grunts that Lance had killed earlier in the morning. And, of course, the Stantler that just lost its life.

When Ash finally stopped retching, he stood up only to find that he was feeling dizzy. Lance, who had stored the dead Stantler in a spare Poké Ball, rushed to Ash's side when he saw that he had fallen, and in his own pile of vomit for that matter.

"Ash, c'mon," said Lance as he snapped his fingers in front of Ash to keep his attention, "stay with me." He handed him his bottle of water from his backpack, which he shoved away.

"I'm fine," Ash assured, "I was just thinking of something that-"he didn't finish his sentence, for another round of vomit was spewing from Ash. When he finished with that, Lance lifted him up and placed him on top of Magnezone.

"Magnezone, we're going back. You're carrying him, okay?" Lance said to his Pokémon. He gave a short nod with his body as he started floating toward the direction where Dawn and Brock were, Pikachu riding on Lance's shoulder.

Ash felt bad that their hunting excursion was cut short, and all because the sight of blood made Ash sick. But didn't have a reason for that? He was still getting used to the whole "kill or be killed" thing, wouldn't it take a while to get used to it?

"Lance, I-I'm sorry that-"Ash began, but Lance interrupted him before he could explain.

"Don't worry about it," he said. "You'll get used to it. We'll try again tomorrow."

Ash was going to say something else, but stopped short when he heard a faint rushing sound. At first he thought that the Aura was coming back, and he held onto Magnezone so as to avoid from falling off. When he never went into the Aura, however, he realized that the sound, which never increased in volume, was coming from his left.

"You hear that?" asked Lance. Ash nodded before he leaped off of Magnezone and started running toward the sound, with Lance and Pikachu chasing after him.

"Ash!" Lance shouted, "What the hell are you doing?"

Ash didn't answer back, not stopping until he found the source of the sound; a large, rushing river of crystal clear water. It wasn't the same river that Ash saw in his aura, but it had water nonetheless, and it would keep them alive that much longer.

Ash was laughing in relief when he found the river. Their current supply was almost empty, and had they waited three days they'd be dying of dehydration.

"Did you really have to run off toward some sound you couldn't identify without at least letting me know?" Lance said sternly, "for all you know, you could've been running headfirst into a pack of Rocket grunts, and what would've happened then?"

"Who cares!" exclaimed Ash, "we found water!" He pulled out an empty water bottle from his bag and held it under the rolling water as it filled, reacting only slightly when the cool water made contact with his skin.

"Just fill that one and let's go," Lance said, "we can come back tomorrow." Magnezone gave a low hum, which Ash assumed to mean that he was agreeing with him. Once his bottle was completely filled, he screwed on the cap and placed it in his bag.

"I can walk from here," Ash said, "I'm feeling fine now."

"I'll take your word for it."

They silently walked in the darkness of the night back to their makeshift camp, where Brock and Dawn not only had a fire going, they were already feeding some form of hash to the other Pokémon, Lance's included. Every single one of them looked ready to drop dead from hunger, especially Togekiss, since she had to fly Ash and Dawn out of the city the day before.

Lance looked horrified. "When was the last time you fed them?" he half-asked, half-shouted.

"Probably two nights ago," Dawn admitted sheepishly, "at the Pokémon Center, just before everything started going to shit."

Lance grunted. "Just make sure that they eat up all of that." Pikachu hopped off of his shoulder to have his share in the grub.

Brock took notice of the vomit stains on Ash's clothes. "What happened?" he asked, "you look like you threw up all over yourself."

"I did," Ash said bitterly. "But we found a river in that direction, so I can wash them tomorrow."

Dawn was ecstatic. "Great! Now we can all freshen up and refill our bottles and-"

"Don't get too excited," Lance joked, "it's only water. But even better was that I caught us some fresh meat."

"What kind?" Brock asked, "A Rattata?"

"Nope," said Lance, hardly able to contain his excitement, "a Stantler!"

"How'd you take down a Pokémon as big as Stantler?" Dawn asked.

"Rather simply, actually," said Lance, who sat down by the fire, "all it took was a bullet to the jaw and a cut to the throat."

Dawn suddenly looked queasy, the thought of killing a Pokémon obviously making her uncomfortable.

"But let's not talk about that," Lance continued, "we'll deal with it tomorrow. Brock, can you fry up something from the canned food that we have?"

Brock nodded as he rummaged in his backpack for something to cook up, eventually pulling out a can of Pork & Beans. "I just realized that we haven't eaten anything all day," commented Brock, "just looking at this can is making my stomach growl."

"I've eaten a bit more recently than you guys," said Lance, "so I won't eat much. I have some of my own food anyways." He pulled out an energy bar from his pocket.

"That won't be enough for the night," said Dawn, "you're having some of this, and I'm not arguing about it."

Lance shrugged, pocketing the energy bar as Brock dumped the food into a pan that he held over the fire. Ash was going to mention something about what happened earlier, but before he could he noticed an odd gaping wound on Lance's chin. It was then that he realized that his chin was unusually short, much shorter than any of theirs. "Lance," said Ash, "what's wrong with your chin?"

Any sort of emotion that Lance had was wiped clean once Ash asked him about his chin. He shot a bitter look at him. "Bullet," he mumbled with a hint of resentment in the tone of his voice.

They were all silent for a few moments. "By them?" said Ash, breaking the silence.

Lance nodded slowly, not having to ask what he meant by "them". "When the invasion began in Johto, all of the League Officials were rounded up by the Empire and were executed."

"Wait, I thought you said that you left," said Ash.

"I did," explained Lance, "but I had to put up a fight to get out. They _almost _had me, but I got out. I took this bullet in the process, and one on my arm, too. I barely made it out alive." He rolled up his sleeve to reveal two similar wounds on his left forearm. "The other one I took just last month, a few days after Hoenn fell."

"Great!" exclaimed Dawn, "just great! So what're we gonna do now, just wait around and hide until they kill us? Act like we're gonna be fine when we're starving and freezing and waiting for the Empire to kill us?" Her voice held nothing but pure fear. That, and anger, which seemed to be aimed at Lance more than at the Empire.

"Exactly the opposite," said Lance, "we're gonna fight back."

"Wait, like against the Empire?"

Lance grinned. "Who else?"

**Sorry for the late chapter, folks! ****Let me know what you think of this chapter in the reviews! Thanks for reading!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Authors Note: This chapter picks up IMMEDIATELY after the last one, so if you haven't read this since I last updated I suggest that you re-read the ending of the last chapter. Enjoy!**

_November 15_

"And exactly how will you go about doing that?" Dawn scoffed. "Just walk through the front door like, '_Hurr durr' _and start causing chaos?"

"Pretty much," Lance said casually, "We go in, we cause all hell to break loose, and we get out. Just like that." He grabbed his Poké Balls from his pocket and called back his Pokémon, who by now had finished eating.

"Excuse me," said Dawn, sarcasm seeping into her voice, "but I think you left out the part where we get killed right as soon as we walk in."

"She has a point," pointed out Brock, "there's no way we could get into their headquarters or wherever the hell they're at and do anything against them for more than a few seconds without being pumped full of lead."

"Yeah, maybe" said Lance, "but if we're gonna die at their hands, then maybe a few more of them should die first."

"What's the point?" objected Dawn, "we're already in trouble with them because of this damn egg, why should we make it worse?"

"Because if we're gonna be in trouble, we may as well be in big trouble."

They sat in silence as Brock dished out wooden bowls to everyone. Ash couldn't even think of doing something as drastic as going in to the HQ of the Rocket Empire and somehow take them down. Now that the thought seemed real…could they really do it? He looked at Pikachu, who was tossing his bowl playfully in the air. What would he do about him, if they actually did this?

"How would we do this exactly?" Ash finally asked, "What are the details?"

"We'd go in under the radar," Lance said, "obviously it'd be suicide to just walk in and start creating chaos. We'd have to sneak in somehow."

"I have an idea," Brock offered. "What if we got ahold of some more of those Rocket uniforms? That way we could just walk in and no one would know it's us."

"But how would we get them?" asked Dawn.

"I think that the answer seems rather obvious," said Lance. "The only problem though is that when we do…well, um, you know…anyways, when we do it we'd have to aim for the head. Otherwise, he'd tear the clothing when we shoot them anywhere else, and that'd be a huge giveaway if we used those."

"There's so much that I don't like about all of this," Dawn retorted, "including killing those Grunts for their clothes and going into their headquarters and doing whatever it is that you plan on doing in there."

"I'm on her side," said Ash, "it seemed like a good idea a few hours ago, but now it just seems more malicious than vengeful." Pikachu and Brock both nodded in agreement as Brock dished out the food between their bowls. "Besides, I can't let any of you guys get hurt, or worse, killed. I couldn't live with myself if any of you died."

Lance shrugged. "Suit yourselves," he said as he shoved a spoonful of Pork & Beans into his mouth. "But don't think I won't pull my gun the next time we run into those Grunts. Any of you have a radio?"

Ash pulled out his radio from his backpack and handed it to Lance. He turned it on, coming up with nothing but static. As the other four began eating, Lance was fiddling with the dial on the radio, giving up after he came up with nothing after a few minutes. He set the radio down, not bothering to turn it off as he hacked away at his bowl of food.

They ate in silence for the remainder of the meal, the only sound being the low hum of the radio's static. As was becoming the norm, they all ate their small ration quickly, yet quietly. When they all finished, the five of them stared longingly at their bowls, willing for more of the food to magically appear, even though they all knew that that would never happen.

"We should lay down for the night," said Lance when he took Pikachu's empty bowl and handed it to Brock. "I'm hoping that after last night's little…um, episode that you're sleeping with a bit more cover?"

Dawn looked at Lance with confusion. "And just how do _you _know what happened last night?"

"He was with the same group that was near us last night," said Ash, realizing that it was Lance who was staring at him the previous night. "I remember seeing Jasper with them last night. And then Lance…" he turned to Lance, "I think it was him that was staring at me, after they left."

"If you saw me last night, then why didn't you do anything?" asked Lance, "why not signal out to me or something?"

"Well, I didn't know it was you at the time!" argued Ash, "and besides, even if I did know I'm not about to signal to you when those Grunts were so damn close!"

"Point taken," Lance mumbled. He stood up as he said, "Dawn, would you mind taking the first watch tonight if I take over after you?"

"Sounds fine to me," Dawn said flatly.

"Alright, then. I'll find a big enough tree for all of us. Someone put out the fire and get out the blankets, it looks like it'll be a chilly night."

Lance walked to a nearby tree and began to climb it as Ash released one of the Poké Balls that held his supplies. He dug through the pile until he pulled out a bundle of blankets that he divided between the three of them.

"Hey guys!" Lance called down from the tree, "this one should be big enough, but the branches are pretty high up. Whoever comes up first gets to be the highest up!"

"I'll go first," said Ash, "I just gotta do one thing." He walked back over to the pile of supplies and grabbed the coil of rope, which was lying on top of the pile. After uncoiling the rope, Ash then unsheathed his knife from his waist belt and cut the rope into four equal pieces, each of them being about ten feet long.

"Here," he said as he handed a piece of the rope to Ash and Dawn, "you'll need this if you don't want to fall to your death." He smiled as he re-sheathed his knife and threw the empty Poké Ball at the pile of supplies, beaming it back into the Ball. Ash slung two of the blankets over his shoulder as he approached the tree that Lance was in, gripping a protruding branch as he began to climb.

Lance was right; the nearest branch that would be wide enough for any of them was at least forty feet above him. He climbed up the tree as the canopy that surrounded it grew increasingly thicker, which would prove to be convenient in terms of cover.

Ash handed the third piece of rope to Lance as he finished the climb, laying himself down on a wide branch just under the one that Lance had occupied as Pikachu laid down in his lap. He then handed one of the two blankets to him, which he refused.

"My cape will be fine enough," mumbled Lance as he tied the rope around his stomach, fastening him to the branch. Ash said nothing as Dawn and Brock both laid on branches a few feet below him.

"Sweet dreams," Lance said to everyone, "we'll need 'em."

Ash pinched himself when he woke up in the middle of the night that night. Perhaps, by some astounding miracle, that everything that had happened in the past three days hadn't happened, and that he'd be back to where he was before he found the egg; outside of Hearthome City, trying to fall asleep as he looked at the unblemished night sky.

Unfortunately for him, he felt the slight pain of the pinch, sighing as he was pulled back to reality. He had no idea what time it was; in the moonlight he wasn't able to see what time it was on his watch. The chilly air of the November night forced Ash to wrap his blanket tighter than he had originally. Dawn was taking the first night watch, with Lance taking the second one, but neither of them were moving, both of them sitting upright against the tree as they lay on their branches.

He didn't feel like seeing which one was on shift. "_No point in waking everyone else up_", he thought. "_Might as well go back to sleep."_

Well, going back to sleep was much easier said than done. Ash couldn't bring himself to fall into a slumber, so he was left there, staring at the dark canopy that surrounded him. The only sounds he heard were the chirping of several Hoothoot, even though he couldn't see them.

As he was gently stroking Pikachu, who was lying on his chest, a reel of thoughts flashed quickly through his mind. Thoughts of Dawn, of Brock, of Lance, of Pikachu, thoughts of anything and everything were flowing through his mind at a breakneck pace.

There was one thought, however, that kept on appearing as an image in his mind that he couldn't quite identify. It was like the thought was staring him in the face, but Ash was looking at it as if he were underwater. When he finally realized what that dangling thought was, he was so astounded that he whispered it out loud:

"Death."

"_What was it like to die_", he thought? "_What would it be like to just receive the bullet or the knife and feel everything fade away?_ _I've been so close to death a few times already, how much longer before it finally happens?"_ He looked up at Lance, who was still laying upright against the tree. "_Is he worried about the same thing? About pointlessly running from death? What about the others?"_

Pikachu gave a small snort in his sleep, which diverted Ash's attention to him. How long would he survive in all of this mess? How long _could _he survive? Even if he wasn't killed like everyone else could be, how long did a Pokémon his size live for anyways? He was at least eight years old by now. Would he live for another two years? Five? Ten?

Ash decided, right then and there, that he would find out someday. He wouldn't let Pikachu die because the Rocket Empire was hunting _them_. He wouldn't die because Ash and everyone else had died and he was alone. He would watch Pikachu die, but not anytime soon. He would watch him die when the time was right, when he was ripe and old years from now. But not anytime soon.

"Lance?" Ash whispered. There was still no movement from any of them, so everyone must have been asleep. "_What the hell?" _he thought, "_someone was supposed to be keeping watch!"_

"Lance!" he whispered loudly. This time, Lance visibly stirred himself awake before letting out a slow groan.

"Whutizit?" he said groggily. "Somethin' happen?"

"No," Ash said quietly as he undid the rope that fastened him to the tree, "I just need to ask you something. Something important."

"Is it really that important that you had to wake me up an hour before I was supposed to take shift?" Lance said in exasperation.

"Yes." Ash didn't waste any time having to think about that.

Lance sighed. "Alright, what is it?"

Ash stood up on his branch so that he was eye-level with Lance, waking Pikachu in the process as he jumped onto Ash's shoulder. "Do you think you could promise me something?"

"I can't promise you anything about that promise," he said, "but I'll try."

Ash nodded. "Listen, I don't know if I'll be able to survive much longer out here. I mean, we're doing fine and all, but we can only run into those Grunts so many times before something happens."

"Right," Lance said, looking as if he was in deep thought. "So what are you trying to say?"

It took Ash a few moments to answer. "If I…well, you know…if something happens to me, could you take care of the others? Pikachu, especially. I don't think that they'd survive much longer if I died."

Lance was silent, staring intensely at the canopy that was directly above him. Eventually, he said, "Can you promise _me _something in return?"

Ash was perplexed at his response, but said, "Yeah, sure."

"You're right to be worried about your friends, your Pokémon. And you're right to be worried about dying. I would know; I've had to deal with that every day for a year now."

Ash nodded in understanding of Lance's sympathy. "But," he continued, "the psychological pressure was worse for me, because if I died no one would be there to take care of all of my Pokémon."

"So are you asking that if you die…?"

"Yes," Lance said, "that you take my Pokémon. And my stuff, too, if you can. No reason that that should go to waste. In return, I'll do the same for you when, I mean, _if _you should die."

"Thanks," said Ash. "You're really doing me a favor, knowing that they'll be safe if something happens to me."

"Sure thing, said Lance, "tomorrow we'll re-sort our supplies so that, besides what we keep in the Poké Balls, we have one pack that we keep on hand."

"That sounds good," said Ash. "Well…good night, I guess."

Lance said nothing as he closed his eyes, leaving Ash to return to his branch and re-fasten himself in with the rope. Pikachu re-settled himself in as Ash laid himself upright against the tree, much like Lance and Dawn were.

"Do you really think we'll die?"

Ash looked down from his branch as he saw Dawn, who was looking up at him in return. "Of course not," said Ash, "it's just in case something else happens."

"Don't give me that bullshit!" snapped Dawn, "Do you really think that I don't know what's going on?" She looked fearful, almost ready to cry. "Do you think we'll die?" she repeated.

Ash sighed. "If they find us," he said, "they'll just want me, not you or Brock. Lance, maybe, but – "

"I don't give two shits about Lance!" she hissed, "what I care about is whether _we're _going to die out here!"

Ash was hurt by Dawn's comment, sensing that when she said "we're", she didn't include Lance. Hopefully Lance hadn't heard her. "No. Please, just don't worry about it now and just go to sleep. We'll be fine."

"Alright," Dawn said, even though Ash could tell she still didn't believe him. In all honesty, Ash didn't think that he could ever make her believe that they wouldn't die out here. The number of times that they had stared death in the face seemed too numerous to count. Who's to say one more encounter with the Empire wouldn't finish them off?

"_Screw it,_" he thought, "_just go to bed and worry about it later."_

And that's what he did.

* * *

_November 16_

The walk to the river from the previous day was a short one; from where their tree was, they reached the river in a matter of minutes after waking up. Dawn rejoiced at the sight of the transparent, flowing water. Brock wasn't as marveled at the sight as Dawn was, but grinned nonetheless at the thought of having water for a few more days.

"I'll make a quick fire and boil some of this water," Brock said. "It might look clean, but we can't risk getting sick, especially out here."

"You're right," said Lance. "We can't afford for any of us to get something like dysentery, especially out here. I learned that the hard way last winter."

Ash winced at the thought of getting sick, especially from something as mundane as water. As Brock scooped up some water with his pot and Lance was showing Dawn how to properly gut the dead Stantler, Ash went to work re-sorting the supplies that were in his Poké Balls, heeding Lance's advice from the night before. He decided to fill the one backpack that he kept on him with only the most essential items that he might need.

After completely emptying both the backpack and his Poké Balls, he immediately put the egg back in the backpack. You couldn't have anything else in a Poké Ball with a Pokémon or an egg, so that had to stay with him. Next came some ammo for the gun, which Lance had given to him the previous day. He was about to drop it into the backpack, but after reconsidering he slipped it into the waist belt next to his gun, since he'd be able to access it easier.

"Hey, Ash," Dawn called, "haven't you sorted all of that crap out already?"

"I'm redoing it," Ash responded, noticing that Dawn seemed unusually calm for having to witness Lance dismember the dead Pokémon. Shouldn't she be either looking away, or vomiting from sickness, or both?

He shrugged it off and went back to the supplies, placing two of the folded blankets in the backpack as he saw Brock deposit the boiled water into his bottle. Pikachu began to help Ash sort through the pile, making a separate pile of stuff that they wouldn't immediately need. He looked at the boxes of medicine that Brock had gotten. He decided that one of each should go in the backpack and the rest could go to everyone else, in case they got separated.

"_There,"_ he thought when he was finally done, "_that should be enough."_ Besides the egg, he had in is backpack a box of matches, the piece of rope he cut up the night before, a flashlight, and some food, among some other necessities. His waist belt carried the gun, ammo, his knife, and all of his Poké Balls, both empty and filled with items.

Between this and breakfast (cooked Stantler and boiled water), there wasn't much conversation. Lance and Ash were discussing where they would go from there. Brock was completely silent, only having spoken once all day.

"We should follow the river, just to see where that takes us," Ash suggested.

"Or maybe head North, toward Snowpoint City," Dawn chimed.

"That's a bad idea right there," Lance said. "The November weather is cold already, it's much worse up there."

"I was thinking more of something like Route 228," Dawn said curtly.

"Wrong again. It's warmer, but Route 228 is on a separate island, there's no way we'd be able to get there."

Brock had pulled out his map of the region and unfolded it, studying it for a few minutes.  
"I think that this is the river that we're by," he mumbled quietly, "and if it is, it heads straight toward Sunyshore City."

Lance nodded. "The climate there is slightly warmer, more so in the winter time. That might be our best bet."

Ash was going to respond in agreement, but before he could he spotted a group of gray-clad men in the distance. Rocket Grunts. He silently pointed them out to Lance, who immediately pushed Brock and Dawn behind cover as he and Ash did the same. Lance drew his gun, carefully aiming at the grunts before lowering his gun quickly.

"There's eight of them," whispered Lance. "I don't think they can see us, but there's too many of them to be able to just walk away without risking them noticing us. We'll have to fire at them and hope for the best." He glanced again at the group of Grunts, who had still not noticed any of them. "We'll need to be especially careful with these ones," he said. "Look at their guns."

Ash poked his head from behind their cover to get a good look at the Grunts. About five of them held automatic rifles in their hands, a step up from the pistols that they had been carrying before. But the others had guns with larger barrels, barrels that contained what looked like slender, neon orange rods.

"Lance, what are those?" asked Dawn, the fear mounting in her quivering voice.

"Sleeping Syringes," murmured Lance. "One hit with those and you'll be out cold in a minute. That's why they're just as dangerous as those automatics. Either of them will easily get you killed." Ash grimaced as he remembered the Sleeping Syringe that knocked him out at the Pokémon Center a few days prior. Lance glanced one more time at the Grunts before raising his gun again. "Ash, get your gun out."

Ash did as he was told and pulled out his gun, taking out the clip to make sure that it was full. Once he had filled it and inserted the clip, he unclicked the safety and raised it, aiming for the grunts.

"Brock, when we start shooting you and Dawn stay down. Okay?"

Brock nodded.

"On my count of three," said Lance. "One."

"_What if they kill us?"_ Ash thought. "_there's so many of them this time, what's to prevent them from finishing us off? Or some of us? What if I die, or Lance, but not the others? How will they survive without us? Would they survive without us?" _

"Two."

"_Crap. Oh crapcrapcrapcrapcrapcrapcrap crapcrapcrapcra-"_

"Three."

**Aaaaaaaand that's the chapter! Sorry to leave you guys hanging, but I had to cut the chapter short again for a multitude of reasons, and this seemed like a good place to stop. Anyways, let me know how I'm doing in the reviews, it'd be greatly appreciated! Next chapter will hopefully be up by the end of the week.**

**Thanks for reading!**


	14. Chapter 14

_November 16_

When Lance jumped from his cover and fired the first shot, all hell immediately broke loose. He downed two of the grunts before they could return fire as Brock threw himself on top of Dawn and Pikachu, both of whom were in hysterics. Ash had his gun pointed at the grunts as well, but something, and Ash didn't know what, but something kept him from firing. Was it the thought of having to kill more people to save their own skins? "_They're trying to kill me, sure,"_ Ash thought, "_but is that really a reason to kill them?"_

He decided it wasn't. At first he resolved not to fire, keeping his gun raised as Lance picked off the grunts one by one, both of them ducking and popping up behind their cover repeatedly to avoid the gunfire.

"ASH, WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!" shouted Lance. "DON'T JUST STAND THERE! FUCKING SHOOT, WILL YA?"

Ash said nothing in return as he fired a few shots at a tree stump near the Grunts. He didn't care about Lance thought of him. He didn't even care if their lives were in danger. He would not take another human life.

Firing at the stump must have been enough to convince Lance that he wasn't wussing out after all. They both fired a few more shots, Lance taking out two more Grunts as Ash ducked to avoid a bullet aimed for his head. The remaining Grunts were pushing forward, continually firing as they neared ever closer to them. Ash wasn't sure, but he thought that he counted three of them left.

He continued shooting near them as Lance managed to finish them off. When the last one dropped dead, Lance said, "They were a worse shot than you were, Ash. Seriously, what the hell was that?"

"I wasn't about to kill them for no reason!" Ash retorted.

"Your reason was right there!" Lance said angrily, pointing to the dead Grunts, "When you're being shot at, you don't worry about morals, you worry about saving your own goddam life!"

Before Ash could apologize, a Grunt leaped from behind a tree in front of them and began firing his Sleeping Syringe gun at them. Lance quickly put him down, but not before taking a Syringe to the stomach.

"Shit!" Ash screamed as the orange vial quickly emptied its contents into Lance's blood stream. He yanked it out of his stomach and threw it aside as Brock, Dawn and Pikachu ran up to them.

"You guys OK?" Lance asked, acting as if nothing had happened.

"Are we OK? What about you? You just took one of those Sleeping Syringe thingy's!"

"Don't worry about me," Lance assured as he wobbled and lost his balance, propping himself on a nearby rock. "Just get us the hell…huff…outta here. Don't take any of their things, just get us away from here. Downriver would be best."

"How long does this stuff last?" Brock asked.

"A full vial will…huff…keep me out…a day or so. Just get us away…and hide…" With that, he slumped his head on his shoulder and closed his eyes, the Sleeping Syringe obviously having done its job. If Ash hadn't known better, he would've thought that he was dead.

Ash threw Lance over his shoulder, almost crumbling under the weight of his body. "C'mon," he grunted, "we need to get away, before more of them show up."

"But Ash," said Brock, "we can loot their stuff, we can-"

"There's no time for that!" Ash interrupted. "We need to get him out, and that's gonna take too much time as it is!"

"Why don't we just leave him?" Dawn said.

Everyone in the group who was conscious stared at Dawn like she was insane. "Why would you even think about that?" Ash cried.

"Look, I don't care if he's saved our lives," Dawn argued, "I still don't trust him. For all we know, he's leading us into a-"

"IF HE WAS LEADING US INTO A TRAP, HE WOULD'VE LET US DIE JUST NOW!" Ash shouted his fury unable to be quelled. "HE WOULD'VE LET THOSE GUYS SHOOT US DEAD! WHY THE HELL CAN'T YOU JUST LET IT GO!"

"Because we don't need him!" Dawn replied. "We can ditch him, we can go find someone that'll help us out!"

"No one's gonna want to help us, Dawn! With a fifty thousand dollar bounty on our heads, why would they? They'd just turn us in, or at least pretend to help us until they turn us over!"

"Excuse me, but isn't that what Lance could be doing?"

"After he killed those grunts, the Empire would probably put a bounty on him, too! And frankly, I'm getting real tired of your shit with Lance, and I won't discuss it further!" He turned around and began to walk. "If you don't want Lance around, then you'll have to give me up too!"

Dawn looked at him, then back at the dead Grunts, then back to Ash before sighing in exasperation as she followed him, the others following suit. Ash found it hard to keep up a steady stride with Lance's weight on his back, but was able to do so nonetheless.

After walking on for a few miles or so, Ash fell to the ground, landing on his face, unable to break the fall with Lance on his back. Brock began to pick him back up, but Ash shoved him aside.

"We can stop here, I think," Ash panted. "I think we're far away enough that we can hide up in one of these trees or something."

"What's the point of hiding?" Dawn cried, "we're just gonna run into those Grunts over and over until they kill us!"

Ash couldn't say that she was wrong. He couldn't even count how many times they had run into a group of Grunts and barely made it out alive. What could they do to keep from having to see them again? _Could _they do anything?

"No, that's not gonna happen!" Ash assured. Brock was silently looking on with concern. "We can try hiding for a few days, and then they won't find us."

Dawn shook her head as she began to climb the first tree that she saw, not checking to see if the branches were big enough, or even if they were safe to climb on at all.

"Brock, I need your help to get Lance up in the tree. I can't lift him up on my own."

Brock nodded as Ash reached into his backpack and pulled out his strand of rope. With a stroke of ingenuity, he tied one end of the rope around Lance's chest. He then took the other end and climbed up the tree about ten feet or so. He wrapped the rope around a branch before bringing the rope back down to the ground, effectively creating a makeshift pulley.

Back on the ground, Ash tugged on the rope to make sure it would hold before giving a hard pull on it, hoisting Lance's upper body into the air. After a few more pulls of the rope, his entire body was floating in midair, his feet barely able to touch the ground. Ash continued to pull until Lance disappeared into the canopy of the tree. He grinned, taking pride in his own quick thinking.

"Brock, hold this rope while I tie him to a branch."

Brock silently did so as Ash began to climb the tree until he was level with Lance's limp body. Untying the rope that was around his chest, he quickly tied the rope around him and the branch, the same way that they had done last night.

"OK, Brock, you can let go!"

Ash felt the rope below him go loose as Brock released the rope. He pulled the rope up into the tree as Brock and Pikachu joined him. Pikachu ran up to Ash and perched himself on his shoulder, where he was most comfortable. He gave him a lick on the cheek, which struck Ash as funny, the first time he felt genuinely happy in two days, given the circumstances.

"Now we get to wait, I guess…" Dawn said. Brock nodded in agreement.

"Once Lance comes to, then we might be able to get moving again. Until then, we're staying put." Ash settled himself down on a branch next to Lance, setting his backpack on his lap.

The day that they spent in that tree was unbearably long, to say the least. The hours they spent in silence felt like weeks, the only sound coming from a chopper that flew overhead during that afternoon. The overhead chopper was quite literally the highpoint of their day; besides that brief moment of worry and fright, the rest of the day was filled with absolutely nothing; no speaking, no sound, no mishaps. Nothing.

When the sun began to set and the sky grew dark, Ash had decided that he had had enough of the silence. "I'm turning on the radio," he said, "to see if there's any more news."

Neither Brock nor Dawn objected, meaning that they were in favor of some entertainment or simply just wanted to be able to hear anything that had something to say. He pulled out the radio from his backpack and flipped on the switch as the radio greeted him with its familiar static hum.

He fiddled with the dial randomly, hardly able to see the markings on the console in the darkness. He tried for several minutes, silently rejoicing when he heard a low, grim voice speak from the box.

_ "…killed a total of 19, I repeat, 19 Rocket grunts singlehandedly before she was to be executed. In the impending riot, 84 civilians were killed, as well as an additional 12 Rocket grunts, not to mention the extensive damage to the city of Snowpoint. It is believed that Zoey McHale has since fled the city, as her whereabouts are currently unknown."_

"Zoey?!" said Dawn incredulously. "Why was she about to be executed?" she wondered aloud.

Ash shrugged as he turned the volume up on the radio. He wasn't exactly surprised that she had fled with a fight. She was a real tough trainer, and her abrasiveness was the only reason why she had won the Grand Festival in the first place. He had no idea why she would be put to death, though, or why someone would _try _and put her to death.

"_A bounty of $10,000 has been placed on McHale's head. Meanwhile, the search continues for the four trainers on the Rocket Empire's Most Wanted List. Ash Ketchum, Brock Harrison, Dawn Berlitz, and Lance Luxforde are all wanted by the empire for theft, murder, and assault. So far, their party has killed an estimated 10 Rocket grunts, as it is believed through the Grunts' radio transmissions that they were killed by gunfire from the group. The bounty on their heads has just been raised to $200,000, dead or alive."_

"That's not very surprising," Ash said, turning off the radio. "I'd still like to know what the hell we stole from them. It's not like the egg is theirs!"

Above him, Brock grunted as Ash put the radio back in his backpack. When he did so, he realized that, even with everything he needed, his pack was still somewhat roomy inside. He looked over at Pikachu, who was nibbling on a poffin in Dawn's lap.

"Pikachu, come here," Ash whistled. The pokémon pounced off of Dawn's lap and into Ash's. "Listen, I wanna keep you safe. I know you're not gonna like this, but I'm keeping you in this backpack." Pikachu immediately grimaced at the thought of being hidden in a cramped space like his pack. "In case something like this morning happens again, I want to be able to keep you safe. You understand, right?"

He still wore a sour face, but nodded anyways. "Good," Ash said. "I'll cut out a slit in the side so you can poke your head out, that way it's not so stuffy."

Pikachu nodded again, his sour look slowly fading from his face. Ash took his knife from his waist belt and cut a slit in the pack about four inches long, strategically placed on the top of it, so that nothing would fall out.

Pikachu crawled into the bag, completely disappearing until his head appeared through the slit. Ash laughed at the sight of his head popping out, yet was saddened at the same time. Pikachu had never been in a Poké Ball in eight years. His backpack was the closest to a Poké Ball that he would get, but the idea of him having to do this for the sake of protection still crushed him emotionally.

Ash sighed. "Let's just go to bed. Maybe tomorrow we'll be able to get moving again. I'll take first shift for watch."

Dawn and Brock said nothing as they prepared for bed, digging in their bags for rope and blankets. Ash did the same, careful not to jostle Pikachu too much in the pack. He tied the rope around his waist, as usual, and settled in for the night. Ash placed the backpack in his lap and, inserting his hand into the slit, grabbed hold of Pikachu's paw, never letting go until he fell asleep.

* * *

_November 17_

Ash and Pikachu were the only ones in the tree when he woke up the next morning. Even Lance was missing from his resting spot. "_Where's everyone at?" _he thought.

He could smell a faint wisp of smoke, and the scent of burning meat as well. A hushed voice was barely reaching his ears. He jumped from the tree to see Lance, sitting upright by a fire next to the others. Lance turned his head when he heard Ash land on the ground.

"Well," he said, "look who's finally awake!"

Ash smirked. "I could the same thing about you," he replied. Pikachu cooed as he poked his head out of the backpack. "How you feeling?"

"I'm conscious, so in a sense I'm feeling better." He grinned. "You slept in for quite a while. For a second we were thinking you took a Sleeping Syringe of your own!"

"Funny," Ash said sarcastically. "So what's the plan for today?"

"Stay alive." Lance's expression suddenly turned serious. Dawn and Brock looked on uneasily. "We'll find that riverbank again, and then hug that southward. That way we'll have somewhat of a path to follow."

"As long as we don't get sidetracked by those Grunts again," Dawn pointed out.

"I don't understand why we're dealing with them so often," Ash wondered aloud. "There's so many of them!"

"Beginner's luck," Lance said, "or in your case, beginner's bad luck."

Finding the riverbank proved to be a formidable task. Since they had walked so far from it the previous day, not only did they have to cover that distance, but they had to try and retrace their exact steps back to where they were the previous day. They hadn't gotten to the river until mid-afternoon, and by then everyone was more than willing to take a short break for some water.

"The river is flowing that way," Brock said as he pointed to his left, "and rivers always flow south. That's where we wanna go, right?"

Ash was somewhat surprised that Brock had spoken. It was the most that he had spoken all day, or even in the past _two _days, for that matter.

"Right," Lance confirmed. "Let's finish filling our bottles and get back on the road."

Ash didn't know what road Lance was talking about, since they hadn't been on any actual road in several days. "_Must've been a figure of speech," _Ash realized.

Sure enough, when night had fallen that day they never came in sight of any roads, only a dirt path that they didn't bother to follow.

Surprisingly enough, this day had been even more boring than the last. No encounters with any Rocket grunts, no serious injuries…Ash didn't know whether to be relieved or bored out of his mind.

He would end up choosing the latter. What he didn't know was that the next week would play out exactly like that day had – boring. For a whole week absolutely nothing had happened that was out of the ordinary. They followed the same routine every day for that week without any interruptions.

They would eat breakfast at the crack of dawn before trekking off for a few hours. After taking a short break, about fifteen minutes, in the afternoon they'd keep going until dinner, which almost always consisted of cooked Stantler along with some other canned food. Everyone went to bed after dinner; by then it would be too dark to keep going, and there would be nothing else to do in the darkness.

* * *

_November 24_

Adding to the boredom of that uneventful week in flight was the overall somber mood of everyone in the group. They all had reasons to be mad at someone, or something. Ash was mad at the Empire for messing up their lives so much. Brock wasn't mad at anything; he just seemed depressed, hardly speaking at all as he stayed in his own personal bubble. Dawn was continuously mad at Lance, and for basically no reason either. And Lance? He wasn't mad at any particular thing, but he had a rather gruff attitude, no matter who was talking to him or what he was doing.

One night at dinner, ten days after the invasion, Ash finally noticed that Brock's demeanor had changed drastically. He hardly talked anymore, he noticed, and when he did, it was in a low pitch that would barely be audible.

"Alright, Brock," said Ash, "what's going on?"

Brock slowly looked up at him. "What do you mean?" he mumbled.

"You know what I mean!" Ash exclaimed. "Why are you always so depressed? I mean, yeah we're on the run for our lives, but at least we're trying to keep morale around here!"

Brock sighed. "It's my family. I can't help but think that they're…well, dead."

It was Lance who spoke up this time. "Look, I know that you're worried about your family. We are, too. But you need to understand that there's nothing that we can do about that."

"Yes, there is!" Brock shouted in anger, flinging his bowl of food away. "We can at least try and leave Sinnoh, get to-"

"We went over this!" Lance interrupted, "you can't leave the region, or get into any other ones for that matter. You'd get shot down in a minute!"

"How the hell do you know this? It's not like you've tried it, so how would you know?"

"I DID TRY!" Lance shouted, "I TRIED TO GET BACK TO MY COUSIN, AND I THINK WE ALL KNOW HOW THAT WORKED OUT!"

Ash stepped in at this point. "And newsflash, Brock, but you're not the only one whose family is probably dead, so stop acting like you are! Dawn and I both have mothers at home, and they're probably dead, too, but you don't see us bitching about it!"

"So you're saying that you don't care at all about your families?" Brock shouted.

"Of course we do!" Ash replied, his frustration coming to a boil. "But we've accepted that we can't do anything about it, and that's what you need to do, too!"

"ENOUGH!" roared Lance. Everyone stopped the commotion in fright. Lance was slowly calming down as he said, "We're not running for our lives to kill each other here! Now, if you guys are done, I'm going to bed, and I don't want to hear any more about this!"

As he climbed up a tree with his stuff, everyone else silently cleaned up their stuff as they got ready for bed. Dawn was the first one up the tree, followed by Ash, then Brock. Not a word was spoken as they all tied themselves in and fell to sleep faster than they had in a long time.

**Hey guys, I was going for a chapter that was more emotionally charged than some of the other ones, but I'm not sure how I did with that. Let me know what you think in the reviews, as usual!**

**Also, a few points to make. First, I'm on Spring Break for the next week and a half, so I could have two more chapters in by the end of next weekend. COULD.**

**Secondly, I feel like I should point out that Jessie/James/Meowth don't exist in this story, so Ash and Co. have never met them. So in case you were wondering, there's your answer.**

**Finally, I just realized that it's been three months since I first published this story! This is the longest I've ever been committed to something like this, and I feel that all of your support and love for this story is what has kept me motivated. Thank you to all of the followers of this story, and special shout-outs to ****azure blue espeon, ****Alpha B. A. 7, ****affTwill, **** and ****sonicxjones ****for your continued support! Again, thanks so much!**

**P.S. - Get ready for things to heat up…**


	15. Chapter 15

_November 25_

As soon as Ash woke up the next morning, he knew something was terribly wrong. But what was it? It seemed warmer than normal, which was nice, and the wild Pokémon flew and scattered about as usual. But something still seemed…off.

He looked to his right to see Dawn, still sleeping on her branch. Lance was doing the same above him. Ash knew that Brock was supposed to be keeping watch below him, but when he looked down he saw nothing but a white slip of paper weighed down by a rock.

Immediately suspecting the worst, he reached down for the slip, barely able to grasp it. When he finally had it, he brought it to his eyes and read it:

_Guys – I can't just stay here and wonder if my family is dead or not._

_ So I left, and I'm going to leave Sinnoh, whether you guys likes it or not. _

_ I'm sorry, but I can't just wait around hoping. I needed to take action._

_ Once I get word on whether they're OK, I'll try to get back to you guys._

_ - Brock_

_ P.S. – I went ahead and took Lance's Altaria for extra protection. Tell_

_ him that I'm sorry and that I'll try to return him someday._

Ash read through the note twice, fully digesting what the words said. "_Brock's gone,_" he thought. _"He actually left. He stole Lance's Pokémon. And now he's gone…that bastard actually did it!"_

"Guys, wake up!" Ash hissed. Lance stirred himself awake, but Dawn didn't move at all.

"Whuz goin' on?" Lance asked groggily. "What 'appened?"

"Brock ditched us!" Ash exclaimed as he nudged Dawn awake. Lance reached for the note, which he skimmed over quickly.

"Son of a bitch!" he shouted, crumpling up the note and flinging it as far from him as possible. Before Dawn could ask what was going on, Ash leapt from the tree with his backpack in hand and began running.

"I'm gonna try and find him, maybe he hasn't gone far!" Ash exclaimed. "Both of you stay here, I'll be back soon!"

"Ash, wait!" he heard Lance shout, but he didn't respond; he was already sprinting with no destination. Pikachu was visibly squirming around in the backpack, struggling to get his head into open air. Ash honestly had no idea where Brock could've gone, he was only thinking of combing out the immediate area.

Ash didn't stop running until he was a good quarter mile from the others. He finally stopped when he realized that running blindly in one direction wouldn't get him anywhere. He slowed down to a steady jog, which quickly turned into a walk, then a complete stop.

He sat down in exhaustion and frustration. Brock was gone, and whether they'd ever find him or not was doubtful, at best. He stroked the back of Pikachu's ear a little too hard, causing him to whimper in pain. Ash quickly retracted his hand as he mumbled an apology.

Pikachu stroked Ash's arm with nose in understanding, causing Ash to grin briefly. "C'mon," he said, "let's get back to the others."

"Pika-Chaaa?"

Ash took that to mean that he was asking about Brock. "He just went to grab some stuff," he lied, "but he'll be back soon."

Pikachu, seeing through Ash's lie, zapped him with a small jolt of electricity and a reprimanding look as Ash flinched. "Okay, you win," Ash grunted. "Brock left us. We're not sure where he went, or if he'll be back."

The pokémon suddenly seemed saddened by the news. "But we're gonna try and find him," Ash reassured, "and who knows, maybe he hasn't gone far. Let's get going."

But before he could get up, he heard the _whirr _of a chopper flying above him. He and Pikachu froze in place, fearing that the chopper had their sights on them. Eventually, however, it flew past them and into the distance.

Ash sighed in relief, thankful that a swarm of Rocket grunts weren't about to shoot him down. But before he could walk another ten steps, he did hear a lone gunshot, coming from the direction that Ash was facing. Which is where he was headed.

And where Dawn and Lance were.

After making sure that the shot wasn't fired at him, he immediately sprinted in that direction, fearing that it would've been fired at one of the others. "Pikachu, get in the bag and stay there!" he grunted between breaths. Surprisingly, Pikachu did as he was told and retreated into the bag as Ash kept up his sprint.

The sprint back to their spot, however, seemed much longer than it had when Ash left it earlier. Covering the quarter-mile seemed to take a quarter of an hour, but in reality Ash had no idea how long it took. All he was concerned about was making sure that the others weren't hurt.

"_What if they were hurt?" _ Ash thought as he stumbled over a stray branch. "_What if they both did get shot? Wait, they couldn't have, there was only one shot. So who fired it?"_

He tripped over his own two feet, his train of thought having distracted him. He got up and began his sprint again, but before he got for he noticed from the corner of his eye a blue blur. He turned to see half of Lance's body, his back to him as he was slumped upright against a tree.

"Lance, what the hell happened?" Ash shouted. But Lance didn't respond, or even move for that matter. Ash walked up to him, shouting, "Lance, answer me!"

What he saw when he turned to face Lance nearly made him collapse. A bullet hole the size of a quarter was neatly plastered in the center of Lance's forehead, a fresh stream of blood trickling down his face. His eyes, normally a bright and radiant crimson, were vague and expressionless, aimed at the ground.

"Lance?" Ash asked in a quavering voice. But Ash knew that Lance was dead. "LANCE!" He began to sob in anger when he realized that Dawn was nowhere to be seen. "_Oh shit," _he thought, "_where the hell is she? Oh God, please don't let her be dead, please don't let her be dead!"_

"Dawn!" he shouted. "Dawn, where are you?"

Almost as if in response, Ash heard a clatter of footsteps to his right. He immediately turned to see a bastion of gray and black, heading straight toward him.

His agony turning to pure adrenaline, Ash immediately ran in the other direction, but not before scooping up Lance's backpack, which lay next to his body. He could hear bullets being fired just as he disappeared behind a bush.

Quickly glancing behind him, he could tell that there were far too many grunts to count; at least three dozen, probably more. Fearing that the bullets could land in his backpack, he quickly slipped his bag off of his shoulders and clutched it in his chest as he kept sprinting madly. He'd kill himself if Pikachu got shot, or worse…

As he slipped Lance's backpack over his shoulders, he could hear the sound of multiple helicopters flying above him. He glanced up to see not only a half-dozen choppers that had Grunts grappling down from then, but also a group of Salamence, all of whom were charging up a Hyper Beam aimed right for him.

He dived to his left to dodge a Hyper Beam, then kept running, quickly changing direction to avoid another one. He ran past a tree just as a bullet landed in it, right where his head had passed it. Ash drew his gun from his hip and began firing blindly behind his shoulder, knowing that it wouldn't help as he ran right into a black smoke cloud that appeared around him.

The smoke's effect on him was instantaneous. His eyes began to sting and water, his lungs burning as he ran from the smoke cloud. Through his watering eyes he thought he saw Dawn running in the distance, but he wasn't sure. Whoever it was, they were running in the opposite direction, so Ash couldn't find out who it was.

He saw a cluster of Rocket Grunts to his right, causing him to immediately run the other way. The barrage of gunfire continued behind him, and Ash was sure that the only reason he managed to avoid being hit by gunfire was because he was a fast moving target.

He heard the growl of a Houndoom to his side as a Hyper Beam landed a mere meter behind him. The pure adrenaline pumping through his veins was what allowed him to outrun the pokémon…initially. The pokémon soon caught up to him and knocked him down, and Ash soon felt the quadruped beast on top of him.

Ash looked up to see his teeth bared, ready to shred him to bits. He managed to bring up his leg from under the Houndoom and kick him to the side. It yelped in pain, but Ash didn't have time to feel bad. Lance was right; when you were being shot at, you don't worry about morals. You worry about saving your own goddam life.

He continued running, sliding into a different direction as another black smoke cloud seemed to magically appear in front of him. He turned only to see another Salamence being manned by a Grunt, his Hyper Beam nearly fully charged. Ash managed to duck before the beam could take off his head. He leaped over a large branch as the chaos of the attack continued around him.

"Pikachu, you okay?" he shouted.

"CHAAA!" Pikachu cried.

Something hard hit Ash in the head, knocking him down. He glanced over his shoulder to see an Electrode as his feet, primed to explode with an evil grin on its face. Ash pushed himself off of his feet and bounded wildly away from it. When the Electrode exploded, Ash was just far away from it to be blown into the air, but not seriously injured.

It didn't take long after landing before he took his first bullet. He felt the bullet graze the bottom of his chin, causing him to howl in pain as he cupped it whilst running in all sorts of directions. Luckily, he noticed a huge wall of the black smoke, towering at least fifty feet in both directions, off to his left. Taking a deep breath, he dashed into the wall of smoke, emerging from the other side to find that the other side was completely empty of any hostiles.

He quickly hid behind a large tree, trying to mop the blood from his chin. The cacophony of gunshots still pierced Ash's ears, and he could tell that they were still firing through the wall of smoke, hoping for a confirmed kill.

"_This is insane!" _Ash thought, "_Why do they need so many of them to kill just a few people?"_ He felt trapped behind his tree; if he went out and ran, he'd indubitably be shot dead in a matter of seconds. But if he stayed where he was, the slew of Grunts would eventually find him hiding and kill him then. The branches on the tree were too high up for him to climb, so that wasn't an option.

But then he saw the wide river to his right, the same one that he saw in the Aura more than a week ago. It was all there; the same elegant, winding river, the same steep overpass that stood between him and it. He understood then what the Aura had told him: "_Come to me, or die."_

Knowing what he had to do, he bolted from his spot and toward the river, using Lance's backpack as a makeshift shield against the gunfire. The shield kept him from any life-threatening injuries, but he painfully took another bullet to the upper leg before throwing himself down the overpass.

He tumbled and turned down the overpass, the gunfire still aimed toward him. He would've been hit, too, provided he wasn't going down the hill at a breakneck pace. The river drew ever nearer, he noticed mid-tumble. The light from a charging Hyper Beam came from the top of the overpass. He shifted himself to the side as best as he could to avoid the Hyper Beam, which missed him by mere inches. The force of the beam being so close to him blew him down the remainder of the overpass and straight into the river.

* * *

It was Lance's shouting that woke Dawn up the next morning. She slowly propped herself up on her elbow to see Ash jumping from the tree.

"I'm gonna try and find him, maybe he hasn't gone far!" she heard Ash shout. "Both of you stay here, I'll be back soon!"

"Ash, wait!" shouted Lance. She didn't hear Ash reply, so he must have run off.

"Lance, what happened?" she asked.

"Brock went off on his own," Lance snapped, "specifically after I told him not to!"

Dawn was alarmed by this. "Well, where would he have gone?"

"How the hell should I know?" he retorted. His rudeness seemed to get worse and worse each day, she noticed.

"Should we follow Ash?"

Lance sighed. "There's no telling where he's gone," he said. "We may as well just wait here for him. I'll make some breakfast real quickly." He climbed down from the tree, Dawn following soon after.

Lance had wordlessly gathered some wood for a fire, leaving Dawn with nothing to do. She attended to her backpack to pretend to sort out some supplies, her back to Lance. She glanced at him distastefully. "_What the hell has he done in the past week?"_ she thought, "_besides almost get us killed and tell us what to do? And pretend like he's our friend, too. Seriously, how the hell does he live with himself?"_

Then, a thought dawned on her. What if _Lance _was the reason that Brock is gone? _"He could've easily disposed of him in the middle of the night. He did have the first watch shift, after all." _

She turned to see that Lance was stuffing ammo into the clip of his gun. "_Oh shit, I think he actually did it! And with Ash gone for the moment, what's to stop him from killing me off?!" _Her breathing grew rapid, her heart pounding in anxiety. _ "He never did like me, he was gonna kill all of us eventually, why wouldn't he do it now, when he has the chance!"_

Almost without thinking, she ran toward Lance, who had stood up just as Dawn pushed him into a tree, knocking the gun out of his hands. Seeing her chance, she quickly picked up the gun, aimed it at Lance's forehead, and pulled the trigger, all before Lance could react.

Blood painted the majority of his head as he slumped to the ground, his back still against the tree. A slow stream of crimson blood began to flow straight down the middle of Lance's face. She expected him to get up, to keep fighting. But one shot was all it took, she thought. One shot was all it took for her to kill Lance.

At first, Dawn felt…what was the word she was looking for? Relieved, she decided. She was relieved that she wouldn't have to worry about the bastard anymore. But her relief soon turned to panic.

"_I can't believe it," _she thought, "_I actually killed him. Oh shit, I actually killed him!" _She flung the gun behind her, wanting it as far away from her as possible. "_Oh my God, was I really that stupid to actually kill him? Oh shit, oh shitshitshitshit…what the hell is Ash gonna think? He had to have heard the gunshot, what'll happen when he comes back and…"_

Dawn noticed a thick bush not too far from it. Primarily out of fear, she buried herself in its camouflaging leaves, completely hidden from the outside world. She silently cried in her hands, ashamed that she had driven herself to actually kill someone, let alone Lance. Why couldn't she trust him? Was there really any reason to suspect him of anything after all?

Before she could answer her own question, she heard Ash's voice, calling out for Lance. "_Oh shit," _she thought, "_when he sees that he's dead…"_

"LANCE!" he shouted. Dawn didn't have to look in his direction to know that he was sobbing in agony. It wasn't long before he was calling out for Dawn. "Dawn!" he shouted. "Dawn, where are you?"

Dawn felt Ash's pain, his agony, and wanted so desperately to call out to him, to let him know that she was okay, that she was sorry. She had barely opened her mouth to speak before Ash was off, running into the forest with both his and Lance's bag.

The sight of the Rocket Grunts running after him made nearly made Dawn scream. She had to cover her mouth to stifle the scream, which was only inaudible due to the gunfire that had just erupted. She was forced to wait in the bush until the grunts, as numerous as they were, finally disappeared from sight.

She crawled out of her hiding spot, and was about to run away from where the grunts had gone before a cloud of black smoke suddenly surrounded her. The smoke, which smelled of putrid acid, forced Dawn to lie down, since she feared that more gunmen would be closer to her yet.

This was confirmed when she heard more footsteps clamoring near her. She could only pray that no one would notice her hiding in the smoke cloud, which seemed to wear away at her senses with each and every passing second; her eyesight deteriorated, partly due to the smoke itself and partly due to the tears that stung her pupils. Her muscles became tense, her lungs burning with increasing intensity.

The sound of the hostiles around her didn't go away at all. In fact, it seemed to Dawn that more and more Grunts were passing by her, safety only guaranteed by the cover of the smoke, which Dawn felt would kill her any minute now. Knowing full well that what she was about to do was probably suicide, she forced herself to bolt from the smoke cloud and into the nearest safe cover that she could find.

When she stepped from the smoke cloud and into open air, she saw that all of the Grunts were now a fair distance from her; they were running toward the direction that Ash had gone off to. Dawn saw her chance and ran the opposite way, away from the chaos and gunfire.

But getting away, let alone running, proved to be a fortuitous task; her eyesight, which had initially been restored after leaving the smoke, now became blurrier by the second. Her ears were ringing uncontrollably, and her muscles ached, a stabbing pain shooting through her legs with each step she took. Even breathing was next to impossible, her lungs burned that badly.

She was forced to sit down beside a tree to collect herself, or at least try to. All she could see now were shapes and figures, nothing definite. She was gasping for air; the only sound she heard was the loud ringing in her ears. Dawn felt like she would die any minute. "_Is this what I get for killing Lance?"_ she thought, "_A slow and painful death?"_

She curled herself up into a ball, waiting for death to envelop her whole. At that moment, the ringing that dominated her hearing was joined by a new wave of gunfire. Dawn retreated further into her ball, fearing death but expecting it at the same time.

The gunfire came from both her left and her right. But what was everyone firing at? "_If they were firing at me," _she thought, "_they would've hit me by now! So who the hell are they shooting at?"_

She looked to her right to see a towering figure standing over her as it fired off an automatic. Dawn was left to assume that, since there was only one person near her, that it was firing at a group of Grunts. The figure was shouting something to her, but she couldn't make out what it was or who the voice belonged to.

Dawn had no idea what to do. Did she stay where she was and hope that the figure would somehow get them out of this? Or did she try to run away and hope that she didn't get shot?

Knowing that the figure was most likely heavily outnumbered, she got on her aching feet and half ran, half stumbled away, her hands shrouded over her head. She hadn't moved ten feet before she felt a shooting pain in her spine. She was knocked down to the ground, but strangely enough, she wasn't dead.

Reaching behind her back, she pulled out what felt like a long rod that protruded from her lower back, just opposite her navel. She didn't have to see it to instantly know what it was. Already she could feel the effects of the Sleeping Syringe take hold of her already ravaged physical state. She tried to get up and keep going, but the effects of the drug combined with the short stint she just made left her completely drained physically. She barely had the strength to even breathe. Any moment now, the figure, whoever it was, would fall dead, swarmed by the number of Grunts that it was facing off against. And then they would get to her, lying there weak and helpless. She was done.

Dawn felt herself slowly drifting off, her blurred vision slowly turning to nothing. "_Goodbye Brock," _she thought, "_goodbye Mom, goodbye Ash, goodbye Pikachu."_

_ "Goodbye Lance."_

She felt as if she were flying just as she slipped under.

**Did I not say that things would heat up? I'm honestly amazed at how epic this chapter turned out to be, and I want to hear what you think of how it turned out! As usual, let me know how I did in the reviews! They've all been really positive and encouraging, and I thank all of the reviewers for that. Look for the next chapter probably on Friday or Saturday.**

**Thanks for reading!**

**Credit to sonicxjones for giving me some advice on this chapter.**


	16. Chapter 16

_November 25_

Brock placed the rock on the freshly written note and jumped from the tree. He landed with a _thud _on the ground, pausing for a few seconds to see if the others had woken. When he decided that the coast was clear, he walked away from his friends without looking back.

He had only been walking for twenty minutes or so before he decided to stop. He was far enough from the others, he thought, and he'd need to keep up his strength for the daytime. Gripping a branch of the tree above him, he climbed about fifteen feet up before finding a good branch for him to lie down on.

He tied the rope around his waist and closed his eyes, but the nagging thought of ditching the others kept him from sleeping. Scenarios in which everyone else ended up dead flooded his mind, and Brock couldn't get them out. "_What if they were to end up dead tomorrow,_ _and I wasn't there to do anything? Sure, Lance is strong, a hell of a lot stronger than me. But what if something happens and…no, I have to go back."_

Brock forced himself to untie the rope that kept him on the branch when his mind suddenly jumped back to his family. They were as good as dead as his friends were, but he was still pretty sure that his friends were OK, or that they would be for a while. He couldn't say the same for his parents, or his siblings…

Without giving it further thought, Brock strapped himself back in and went to sleep, his mind set on where he would go.

* * *

It was the sound of gunshots that woke Brock up the following morning. He was instantly alarmed by the sound, but calmed down a little when he realized that the sound was faint, coming from the distance. Nonetheless, he unsheathed his knife as he climbed down the tree, in case any gunmen were nearby. It wouldn't be much defense-wise, he thought, but it was the best he had to.

Brock looked off in the direction where the shots were coming from. He couldn't see anyone firing a gun, so the gunmen, wherever they were, had to be a safe distance away. He walked in the opposite direction from the gunfire, indifferent to who it was aimed at. Gunfire had become commonplace for him by now, but he still cupped his ear, discomforted by the thought of being shot.

"_But what if it's Ash and everyone else that's being shot at?" _Brock thought. "_What if the Grunts caught up to us...er, them and they're running for their lives, or they're already dead?"_

"Stop it," he told himself, "you're not getting anywhere by bothering yourself with this crap. There's no way you're gonna go out there into that mess, it's not worth dying to see if they're _maybe _involved."

Brock walked on for a few more minutes until he could no longer hear the gunshots. Whether they had ceased or whether he was out of earshot was beyond him. He set his bag down and began to make a fire.

Once the fire was going, he cooked up a pot of Pokemon hash, not even thinking of feeding himself. Brock didn't have to make much food; all he had was his Croagunk, Sudowoodo, and Chansey. That, and Lance's Altaria. How would he react to being separated from Lance?

Shoving the thought aside, he released all of the pokémon, save for Altaria. The three of them ate their food hurriedly, not noticing that only Brock was there until they had finished. Setting their bowls aside, they then took notice of everyone's absence as they looked at Brock quizzically.

Brock ignored them as he stamped out the fire, but he fell over as the agonizing sting of Croagunk's Poison Jab hit him in his thigh. He twitched on the ground momentarily before meeting Croagunk's intimidating stare that translated into something like, "You better tell us what's going on if you know what's good for you."

He got up and brushed the dirt off of his clothes. "I don't think you guys are gonna like this, but we're headed out of Sinnoh. Ash and everyone else decided to stay behind in this mess."

Almost immediately, his pokémon all shouted in protest at his actions. "Look, it was something I had to do!" Brock objected, "and there's nothing we can do about it now. We're gonna try and get to Kanto. From there, we might either stay there or come back to Sinnoh and back to the others, depending on how things go." He was purposefully vague about his true intentions when he said that last part.

Croagunk lunged at Brock in anger, but Brock dived out of the way as he called Croagunk back into his Poké Ball. He shot Brock one last sour look as he morphed into a cloud of red light and disappeared into the Ball.

He turned toward his other Pokemon. "You guys aren't gonna attack me too, are ya?"

Sudowoodo and Chansey didn't look angry per se, but worried instead.

"Look," Brock said, "I know that you're probably worried about everyone else. I am, too. But they're still pretty well off. They have food and supplies for a while yet, and Lance is there for protection. If anything, they're better off than we are."

The two pokémon looked fearful when Brock said they weren't as better off. "But we're still alright, just as long as we stay out of trouble." He assured. "Lance gave us his Altaria, too…well, he didn't _give _it to us, but you get the idea. So that makes five of us."

His pokémon were only slightly comforted by his assurance. _"Oh well," _Brock thought, "_they'll just have to get used to it." _He called his pokémon back to their Poke Balls before continuing to venture south, or what he suspected to be south.

* * *

Ash plunged into the water with a hard _splash, _his worn body nearly colliding with the bottom of the riverbed. The freezing water seemed to pierce every inch of his body. If Ash didn't know better, he would've thought he was swimming in a river of knives.

His body told him to react to the cold water, to get the hell out, but his mind told him to play dead, since the Grunts still had sight of him. His backside surfaced as he heard the popping of gunfire behind him as he was carried away into the distance. Getting away, however, ended up costing him another bullet wound, this one right next to the one he already had in his leg.

The river bent to the right, putting Ash out of sight from the Grunts. The gunfire had ceased, which Ash took to mean that he was in the clear. Gasping for breath while grunting in pain, he wanted to keep floating down the river to get as far away from the Grunts as possible. The freezing cold water, however, told him otherwise. He resorted to swimming, which quickly turned to doggy paddling, to the edge of the river and pulled himself onto dry land.

The first thing he did was unzip the main pocket in his pack. Pikachu scurried out of the bag, which had become waterlogged, and sputtered up some water. Ash, sighing in relief, crawled toward him, his leg keeping him from walking.

Pikachu gasped at Ash's wounds, which by now were spilling blood down Ash's leg and onto the grass. He dug around in his backpack for a roll of bandages, which he found as he shoved away the egg and a box of painkillers. "_Forget the painkillers, I'll bleed to death in a few minutes if I don't wrap this up." _Ash thought.

He didn't even bother to roll up his wet pant leg as he hastily wrapped the bandage around his upper leg. It wouldn't stop the pain, but at least he wouldn't bleed out. Knowing it would be awkward to have to wrap a bandage around his bloodied chin, he simply dabbed at it with the bandages to wipe away some of the excess blood.

Ash tried to push himself onto his feet, but the pain in his leg was still too intense for that, let alone walking. Reaching for his pack again, he found the box of painkillers again and swallowed two of them, grimacing as their bitterness remained in his throat. He knew that they would have no immediate effect, but the tantalizing thought of relief made him take the pills, even if they only somewhat alleviated the pain.

His mind jumped back to the Grunts as he was reminded of their proximity to him. There was no way that he'd be able to get away on his leg, so he was essentially stuck there. With what hope he had left to stay alive, he frantically tried to crawl further from the water and into whatever cover the surrounding forest could provide. As tired as he was of having to venture in a forest when there was an open field downriver, he knew better than to complain since the forest would keep him hidden.

Pikachu, who had been keeping up with Ash's slow crawl, scurried off straight into the forest without warning. Ash called for him, but the mouse disappeared into the camouflage of the forestry without returning a word to his trainer.

Ash hung his head low and collapsed to the ground in despair. "_Lance is dead. Dawn may as well be. Brock ditched us, and now Pikachu has too. It's just me. I could be the only one alive of the four of us. But not for much longer…"_

He suddenly became aware of a rustling bush in front of him, and he lifted his head to see Pikachu, staggering his way back to him with a long stick. Exactly how Pikachu managed to find the stick, which was nearly as long as Ash was tall, was beyond Ash, but he wasn't about to question that. Grabbing the stick from Pikachu, he propped himself up on his feet and tried using it as a walking cane of sorts.

He found that shifting his weight to the makeshift cane didn't make walking painless, but it made it bearable, to say the least. Ash looked down to see Pikachu taking pride in his ingenuity.

"Good work, bud," Ash said. "Let's get going."

Pikachu climbed up onto Ash's shoulder, inadvertently latching on to his wounded leg in the process. He winced in pain and nearly fell over, the cane being the only thing that kept him standing. Before the pokémon could even open his mouth to apologize, Ash said, "You're okay…its fine, really." Even though it was obvious that he was not fine.

Neither of them spoke as Ash half-ran, half-stumbled as far from the river as he could manage. If it weren't for the cane, he'd probably be back at the river. He hadn't heard any additional gunfire or Grunts, which was a good sign. Still, he kept forging his way deeper into the forest, the thought of nearby gunmen the only thing keeping him going.

Eventually, however, that thought was trumped by the exhaustion that overcame him, forcing him to sit and rest. He had been stumbling through the forest for…he didn't even know how long. Five minutes? Ten? Probably not that long, he thought. A large bush not too far from Ash attracted him with the promise of cover from the outside world.

He laid the stick down on the ground before hiding himself in the shrubbery. "_Five minutes," _he told himself. "_Five minutes, and you're back on the road."_

Ash spent most of those five minutes trying to recollect himself physically. His leg was still throbbing; he didn't know if the pain would ever fully subside. Given that he was suffering from three gunshot wounds, two of them within an inch of each other, it didn't seem likely. Besides that, he was violently shivering from the cold water that clung to every particle of skin on him.

What he planned on doing or where he planned on going was a mystery even to him. He knew that he and Pikachu couldn't stay in one spot for too long, but it would be redundant to just wander around forever. If he was gonna run – or in his case, hobble – for his life, shouldn't he have a destination in mind? Even then, it would help to know where in the region he was in the first place.

Ash ended up leaving the question unresolved as he prepared to leave. Out of impulse, he peered through the bush to see if anyone was near. Had he not done that, he would've died right there.

He was taken aback by the sight of one lone grunt, slowly walking parallel to him with an assault rifle in his hand and a small pack over his shoulder. It wasn't the grunt himself that had surprised him; what had surprised him was the fact that he was alone. Shouldn't there be a whole group of them?

His first thought was to just wait until he walked out of sight. That idea was blown out of the window, though, when he sat down on a large rock directly in front of him.

Flight was his next idea. Get out of there before the grunt could notice. But he proved to be too close to Ash for that to be a possibility. That left only one other option. He pulled out his gun from his hip, fingering it uneasily. Would he really have to kill him just to get away?

He looked at the grunt, then down at his gun, then back at the grunt. There was no way he would be able to get away without attracting his attention. No, there were only two options here, he convinced himself: kill or be killed.

Ash gripped the gun forcefully, violently shaking from cold and anticipation. He raised the gun toward the man, which rustled the bush that he was hiding in. This alerted the grunt, who quickly cocked his head toward him. Rather than kill him, the idea of dodging the gunfire that would ensue briefly flashed through Ash's mind, but Lance's words echoed otherwise: _You don't worry about morals; you worry about saving your own goddam life._

It was his echoing voice that willed Ash to pull the trigger before the grunt could even raise his gun. The bullet splattered blood over the gunman's gray chest as he fell to the ground.

"_I've done it,_" Ash thought, "_I've actually done it…oh, shit. SHIT!_" Ash wanted so badly to just collapse and mope about what he had done, but he forced himself to get up, to grab the dead man's pack, to get his ass out of there before anyone else could swoop down on him.

As if the sight of the dead body from the bush wasn't enough, he could barely keep standing when he towered over it. The grunt's eyes were still open, which repulsed Ash even more. He knelt down to remove the pack from his shoulders when he noticed that the man's chest rising and lowering slightly.

He fell backwards, shocked to see that he was still alive. The shock turned to pure fear when the "dead" grunt slowly turned his head toward Ash, giving both him and Pikachu a blank stare.

"I-I-I- I-I-"Ash stammered, trying to find the right words to say to this guy. Exactly what _could_ you say to a man that you shot and lay dying before your eyes? He half-expected the grunt to whip out his gun and start shooting at him. But he didn't. He didn't even make a grab for it.

What he did do, however, would hurt Ash more than any bullet ever could. The grunt, instead of trying to kill him or even attack him, nodded in understanding. Understanding of why Ash did what he did. The nod didn't last long, but Ash knew what it meant quick enough. The grunt then took his dying breath as he turned his head toward the heavens.

It was the Grunt's eyes that conveyed emotions that words could never describe. In those last few seconds of the Grunt's life, those clear blue eyes showed regret, hurt, shock, and pain, but most of all, acceptance. Acceptance of his death. Acceptance of the fact that it was not Ash's desire to kill him.

The emotional impact of everything that had happened in the past several days suddenly hit him full force then. The loss of his pokémon, the grunt's death in the Poké Mart. Cyndaquil's death. Lance's death. Dawn's and Brock's death, assuming they were dead. And now this guy's death. To Ash, it felt like all of those things had happened all at once, right then and there.

Whatever physical strength he had while standing was enormously outweighed by his outpouring of emotion. He slumped to the ground, doing nothing to stop or even control the sobs of agony. What did he care if someone were to kill him, right here right now? If there had been more than one grunt, he'd gladly let them kill him.

Eventually the tears ran dry, and he was left there in silence. He still didn't have the strength to keep going, so he just sat there in his own guilt. "_This grunt…he had a life," _he thought, "_he had his own family_, _his own worries, his own reasons for enlisting in the Empire. He had a life outside of killing and hunting. But that's gone now. Gone because of me."_

He looked down at his gloves, which over the past week or so turned blood red and dirt brown from its normal navy blue. His gloves had given him strength in the past, the will to keep going. But now the gloves seemed dead, almost as if the blood on them was its own blood that had been shed throughout the past several days. Ash, consumed by undirected anger, ripped off his gloves and viciously stomped them into the ground, completely burying them in the dirt.

Once he was done, he stood over them, his breath seething through his teeth. Pikachu looked at him with fear, wondering why Ash was suddenly so enraged. Ash returned a bitter stare to him. "Let's go," he said in a voice equally as bitter. He and Pikachu began walking in the same direction they had before, not bothering to look back at the grunt. He had more important things to worry about.

* * *

It was mid-afternoon by the time Brock finally stopped for a quick rest. Even though he was well aware that walking nonstop for nearly six hours would naturally tire him out, he had pushed on for as long as he could until he nearly collapsed.

He panted heavily while trying to think amidst his exhaustion. Knowing that there wasn't anything to think about, he pulled from his backpack the radio that he "borrowed" from Ash the night before. If he didn't have anything to think about, he thought, then the radio would give him something to dwell on.

It didn't take long after fiddling with the dial before he found signal, which surprised him. He turned the volume down slightly, not wanting to alert anyone, as he listened in on the broadcast:

"_…for three of the young trainers known to be on the run from the_

_ Empire, Ash Ketchum, Dawn Berlitz, and Brock Harrison,_

_ have been raised to $500,000, a new record for the Empire. This_

_ comes after the fugitives have evaded Empire authorities for eleven days_

_ on charges of theft, murder, assault, and evasion of arrest."_

"_Evasion of arrest?" _thought Brock. "_More like evasion of death."_

The radio crackeld in static a bit before continuing.

_"The bounty of $10,000 on Zoey McHale on charges of murder_

_ remain. However, the bounty on Lance Luxforde on charges of _

_ murder, treason, assault, and evasion of arrest have been lifted._

_ Exactly why they have been lifted was not made immediately clear_

_ by the Empire."_

Even if the Empire didn't make it immediately clear, to Brock it could only mean two things: that Lance was either captured or killed by the Empire. Given everything that had happened over the past two weeks or so, it was probably the latter.

Brock stared at the radio, hoping that it would take back its words. "_Nonononononono," _ he thought frantically, "_no, he can't be dead! He's supposed to be the tough guy in all of this, how could he be dead?"_

The radio never recanted its words, instead going on about some riot. Brock, rather than listen to the rest of the broadcast, hurled the radio at a tree, causing it to shatter and fall to the ground in pieces. Slumping to the ground, he wept silently over Lance, still in disbelief. "_Why did he have to die?" _he thought, "_of all people, why him?"_

A thought suddenly came over him as he looked at the destroyed radio. The bounties for Ash and Dawn were still standing. Which meant that they were still out there somewhere, and that they were okay. Well, maybe not okay, but they were alive at least. If they weren't, then why would there still be a bounty?

He slowly turned to his left, where Brock had come from. To his right was the southern coastline, or where it would be once he reached it. But Brock decided then that he would never reach any coastline or leave the region, for he ran in the direction that he came from, where he ran from the others, and where he hoped to find them.


	17. Chapter 17

_November 25_

Ash had to stop and rest twice more in the hour after he walked away from the dead grunt. The painkillers had done nothing to quell the pain from his gun wounds. At this point, he had no idea if it would ever go away at all.

He remained standing as he set his stuff against the forest floor. Having to sit down only to get up a few minutes later was quickly becoming cumbersome. There still hadn't been anymore gunshots since he left the river, so Ash assumed that he was in the clear. Pikachu hopped off of his shoulder and lay down next to him.

_"_Two minutes, and you're back at it," he said to himself. "_Oh, who am I kidding? It'll take way longer than that, and I know it."_

As usual, he spent his rest period shivering from the cold weather and plotting his next move. "_I'm gonna have to find somewhere to hide, and some more water. I only have a day's worth or so, and just as much food."_ These thoughts flowed through his head repeatedly, and he eventually decided to stop thinking altogether. That left him doing nothing but shivering in the cold.

Pikachu, he noticed, was doing the same, but much more violently than Ash was. Ash grabbed for his backpack and unzipped the main pocket as Pikachu climbed in and poked his head out of the slit. As he gently set the backpack down on the ground by his feet, he glanced at Lance's backpack and picked it up.

The promise that he made to Lance about taking his stuff when he died came back to Ash. "_Wait, wasn't I supposed to take his Pokemon too?"_ he thought. Praying in his head that the pokémon were in Lance's pack, he opened up all of the pockets and dumped its contents on the floor.

He frantically sifted through the pile of supplies. "_C'mon, please be here, please be here!"_ He gave a heavy sigh of relief when he saw the red chromium Poké Balls in the center of the heap. Picking them up and fingering them, Ash suddenly felt a sinking feeling in his stomach. "_I'm gonna have to tell them why Lance isn't here," _he thought, "_and who knows how they're gonna take that…"_

Taking a shallow breath, he flung the Poké Balls into the air. From the clouds of red light came out Lance's Dragonite, Magnezone, and Torkoal, all of whom looked confused as to their new surroundings. "_Wait, where's Altaria? Oh, that's right, Brock stole her. Damn fool."_

"Guys, I-I don't really know how to say this," Ash croaked, "but Lance, he, um…well, he died." His pokémon looked instantly shocked, startled by the news. Ash could relate. "The Empire f-found us," he swallowed to hold back his tears, "and they killed Lance. Dawn and Brock might have been killed, too."

The pokémon cried in agony, and Ash fought to not do the same. "Look, I promised Lance that I would take care of you guys, and I plan on keeping that promise. Are you guys okay with sticking around with me?"

They cried for a few more seconds before calming down enough to wipe their tears. After looking apprehensively at each other, they nodded in unison at Ash's request.

"Good," Ash said with a grin. He walked over to Lance's pokémon, which were now _his _pokémon, and embraced them as they all returned the favor. "_I can get used to these guys. And I can just pretend that Torkoal is the one I had. It'll be like I have my pokémon back…"_

"You guy up for some food? It's long past breakfast."

All of the pokémon, Pikachu included, voiced their agreement somberly, still mourning over Lance. Ash began to chop wood for a fire as the pokémon talked amongst themselves quietly.

Chopping the wood took much longer than it normally had with his wounded leg. What was normally a fifteen minute task took almost an hour, the pain in his leg keeping him from chopping more than a few seconds at a time. "_If I can't do something about this soon, it could get worse."_

"Shut up and chop the damn wood," Ash told himself.

He looked over his shoulder to see his pokémon horsing around with a pine cone. "_At least they're able to have some fun for once."_

Before Ash even thought about cooking up some food, he spent a few minutes warming himself up by the fire. The pokémon, despite being starved of food, didn't complain as the five of them huddled over the minimal warmth the fire provided.

The constant groan of Ash's stomach prompted him to pull out two cans of beans from his pack. He realized then that Brock had all of the cookware – the pots, pans, silverware, everything. "_Great, he just had to take the cookware!"_

"Torkoal, come 'ere" Ash said. Torkoal sluggishly made its way over to him. "Do you think you can hold these cans over the fire, while I try and find something that we can eat off of?"

"Koallll-Tork!" the pokémon cried. Torkoal sat himself up and, grasping the cans between his hands, held them just above the flickering flame.

"Good work," Ash said. "I'll be right back, guys. Dragonite, keep watch for me, will ya?"

Dragonite nodded. "Pikachu, you're coming with me, okay?"

Pikachu looked at Ash like he was stupid, a look that said, "_Do you really have to tell me to come with you? I know by now that I'm gonna follow."_

They walked away from the others, Ash keeping an eye out for anything that could suffice as a bowl or spoon. He wandered in circles – or _a _circle, since Ash was still walking slowly – for five minutes before he was forced to stop to catch his breath, his search coming up fruitless.

"_Okay, this is getting ridiculous. If I can't hobble around for five minutes without having to take a damn break, then how the hell am I supposed to survive?" _He kicked a small tree in anger with his good leg. It shook violently as a few leaves rustled and fell from it. Ash was about to turn around and walk back when he felt one of the leaves land on his shoulder. He lifted his hand to brush it off, but something about the shape of the leaf caught his eye.

He noticed that the leaf had five blades protruding from the center, an unusual amount for any leaf. They were all curved upwards, which made the leaf look like –

"A bowl," Ash said to himself. Grinning, he scooped up a handful of the leaves from the ground, far more than he needed. Caught up in his thoughts, he tried to run back to camp, but the shooting pain in his leg brought him back to reality. He wiped the dirt off of his face as Pikachu handed him his walking stick.

"Thanks," he mumbled as he pushed himself up on his feet. As they wordlessly walked back, Ash half-expected everyone to be in disarray, to have lost all control of themselves from the moment he left. But they weren't; all of the Pokemon had been doing exactly what they were doing when he left.

All three of them looked at Ash, expecting to see him with something a little more useful than a handful of leaves. They all gave him quizzical looks, Mangezone looking especially confused.

"These leaves are almost shaped like bowls," Ash explained. "It's not much, but it's the best we've got. Is that food finished, Torkoal?"

Torkoal responded in agreement as he removed the cans from the fire. Ash took the leaves and dumped a small portion of beans into each leaf, which he handed to each of the Pokemon, save Magnezone. Since it didn't have much use of its arms, Ash would have to feed him by hand.

They all ate their food faster than normal, which didn't surprise Ash too much. "_Their stomachs have been running emptier and emptier each day," _he thought, "_it's a wonder we haven't died of starvation yet!"_

Before he could feed himself once he was done with Magnezone, he felt a raindrop land on the tip of his nose. He looked up to see through the forest ceiling that the skies had turned a dark grey.

"Shit," he hissed as two more drops landed on his face. He called the pokémon back into their Poké Balls and pulled the hood of his jacket over his head. Pikachu scurried into his backpack as Ash hobbled over to a bush, the drizzle now turning into a downpour.

If Ash had been cold earlier, he was freezing now. Even with his jacket on, each raindrop hit his body like an icicle. Ash shivered violently, clutching his backpack, Pikachu and all, to his chest. The drone of the rainfall and the chattering of his and Pikachu's teeth were the only sounds he heard.

"_There's no way I can climb up any tree, and even if I could it wouldn't provide much cover-wise. I have to move somewhere," _he thought, "_if I don't wanna freeze to death!"_

He spotted in the distance a cloud of brown in the sea of green forestry. Squinting his eyes, he made out a cave, its mouth barely visible in the downpour. Ash remembered the times he had nearly died in caves all over the world and shuddered at the thought. He put that behind him as he got up and limped toward the cave's mouth, which promised him either life or a darkened death.

Whatever visibility he had before he entered the cave completely vanished when he did. It only took him a few seconds after entering the pitch darkness before he tripped over a rock, sending him face first into the hard stony ground. Ash cursed as he turned himself over onto his back and propped himself up against the wall.

Much to his dismay, it wasn't much warmer in the cave than it was outside. "_At least it isn't pouring in here," _Ash thought. He felt around in his pocket for Torkoal's Poké Ball and released him once he found it. The embers from the pores on his back lit up the cave, but it was still quite dim.

"Okay, we should be fine in here," Ash said. Pikachu crawled out of the pack and snuggled up next to Torkoal, his warmth obviously attracting him. Ash took notice of his pack and realized that he had left all of Lance's supplies in the rain. "_Nothing we can do about it now," _he thought. "_I'll just have to get it all once it stops raining. If it stops raining, that is."_

He found himself curling up next to Torkoal as well. The heat that emanated from him made Ash sigh in relief as he gradually loosened up. The occasional breeze would blow in from the outside, but the heat quickly negated that. For once, Ash felt comfortable.

"_Besides the fact that everyone else is probably dead," _he thought. _"The odds of Dawn surviving that firefight are next to none. Hell, it's a miracle that I'm even alive. And Brock…that son of a bitch…who knows how far away he was when it all happened, his cowardly ass could be dead too. He SHOULD be dead."_

_ "He deserves to be dead."_

* * *

Brock chucked Altaria's Poké Ball into the air. He watched as she emerged from the cloud of red light. Before she could notice that Lance was gone, Brock had started speaking:

"Altaria, I'm afraid that Lance…he's d…well, he had to go do something," he lied, "and he wanted you to stay with me. Everyone else went with him, too."

Altaria looked confused for a moment, the thought of Lance leaving suddenly trying to register in her head. Her confused look turned to an angry one that intimidated Brock.

"Look, I know that it's hard," he began as he walked toward Altaria, but she only grew madder. Altaria got on her hind feet and blasted out a green beam of air at Brock, knocking him into a tree several meters behind him.

The impact from the blast knocked the wind out of him, and he was blinded by the beam that hit him. After regaining his breath, he sat himself up as he patiently waited for sight to return. The air smelled of rotten eggs and burning rubber. "_Dragon Breath," _thought Brock, "_disgusting!"_ He plugged his nose from the stench as he fully regained his visibility.

Altaria was nowhere to be seen. Brock looked all around him, but couldn't find the bird. Brock heard a loud "_Yaaaa" _above him, and looked up to see Altaria, flying off into the distance.

"FINE!" shouted Brock, "HAVE IT YOUR WAY! YOU ONLY WOULD'VE SLOWED ME DOWN ANYWAY! AND DON'T BLAME ME WHEN YOU GET SHOT DOWN!"

The pokémon flew on, paying no attention to Brock's words, eventually shrinking to nothing as it flew over the horizon.

Brock slammed her Poké Ball into the ground, breaking it into pieces. The shards cut his hands in multiple places, but Brock couldn't care less. He threw the shards behind him, wanting nothing to do with Altaria. Breathing heavily, he wiped the blood from his hands onto his pants and sat down.

"_Lance is dead, Ash and Dawn might be too, the Empire might have the egg, Altaria is gone, and now I feel more and more like a total jackass." _He thought. "_Karma's a bitch."_ He sighed deeply and was about to get up when he noticed a pair of eyes watching him. Turning his head, he saw a trainer in a blue hoodie and long blonde hair, standing a mere ten feet from him.

The trainer, whoever she was, opened her mouth to say something, but Brock was already on his feet, sprinting from her as fast as he could. Brock heard a faint "Wait!" come from the girl, but Brock didn't stop. It didn't matter who she was, he thought, he wasn't about to trust _anyone _out here. He kept up his sprint much longer than he should have; the girl was far, far behind him by the time he stopped.

Brock looked behind him to see if she had followed. His fear had only been eased a little when he saw that she hadn't. He didn't dare rest or recollect his thoughts; she could still be on his trail. He forced himself to keep walking in the same direction as before.

"_Come to think of it,"_ Brock thought, "_I really don't have any idea where Ash or Dawn could've gone. I know that I'm walking toward where we were last night, but where have they gone since?"_

He shoved the negative thought aside as he looked up at the sky. It was turning dark, partly due to the late time of night and partly due to the rain that was rolling in. "_Time to settle down for the night," _he thought. Looking up at a tree, the thought of having to climb and secure himself in it didn't exactly thrill Brock.

"_Can I really take the chance of sleeping down here, just for one night?"_ He decided he could. His blanket and clothes were dark enough, he figured, so he'd be able to stay relatively hidden throughout the night. He covered himself in a bush and smothered himself in his blanket, falling asleep almost instantly.

* * *

_November 26_

Ash woke up groggily, hardly able to see anything. "_When did I fall asleep?" _he thought. Torkoal's dim fire had almost completely gone out; Ash was the only one awake. The only light came from the mouth of his cave. There was a slight itching sensation an Ash's wounded leg, but he ignored it as he made his way to the cave's entrance. It didn't bother him that he was no longer cold; he was actually somewhat hot.

The full moon seemed to illuminate the entire forest, almost as if it were daylight. To his right were the lights of a shining city; whichever one it happened to be didn't concern Ash. It had stopped raining, but the dirt on the ground had mostly turned to mud.

To the side of the city, Ash noticed a single light that was in the center of a dimly lit cabin. He couldn't tell if anyone was in it, but he decided it was better if he didn't know.

"_I'll have to steer clear of those tomorrow," _he thought. As he turned to go back to bed, Pikachu tugged at Ash's pant leg. Ash jumped a little, unaware that Pikachu had woken.

"What is it, Pikachu?" Ash said. Pikachu ran over to Ash's backpack, which was now giving off a bluish glow. He looked inside to see that it was the egg that was giving off the light.

"_Why the hell is it doing that?" _Ash wondered as he held the egg. "_Could it be close to hatching? No, it can't be, we've haven't had it two weeks. But even if it was about to hatch, why would it glow?"_

"Pikachu, I'm telling you, this is one strange egg," Ash said. He put it back as Pikachu voiced his agreement. The egg's glow was only muffled slightly by his pack, which dissatisfied Ash. "_How the hell are we supposed to stay hidden when that thing is exposing us?"_

He laid himself over his backpack, which effectively blocked off most of the protruding light. "_I think I'm starting to get why the Empire wants this thing so freaking badly," _he thought, "_because this isn't just an egg. It's gotta be something more than that."_

* * *

A piercing scream woke Brock up in the dead of night. His first instinct was to run away from it, to run before he was the one screaming, but a seizing fear kept him in his bush. Surprisingly, there weren't any gunshots that he heard; just a lot of pounding and beating noises.

These only went on for a couple of seconds before utter silence followed. Even for the middle of the night, Brock was unsettled by the lack of ambience. No voices, no hootinging, no chirping, no wind…nothing.

"_What the hell do I do?" _Brock thought amidst his panic. "_Do I run away, try and see what the sound was, or just stay here?" _His breathing grew quicker, his thoughts slurring together with every passing minute. "_If I run someone might find me, but someone WILL find me if I just stay here. But if I go toward it, then that's suicide right there. But there weren't any gunshots, it could've just been someone who ran into a pokémon or something, but how would I know?!"_

Out of impulse, Brock got up and slowly walked toward the scream. His footsteps crunching against the forest floor was the only sound that penetrated the otherwise silent night. He took notice of this and strode even more slowly.

A flickering flame appeared several hundred meters in front of him as Brock froze in his tracks. He could make out a few figures sprawled around it as well as one that was sitting against a tree, but that was it.

"_Run, run, run!"_ thought Brock. But as much as he willed himself to run away, his body kept inching closer toward the fire. As he drew closer and closer, he spotted more figures lying face up around the fire, which illuminated their Rocket uniforms. Even more peculiar was that only one of them was sitting against a tree, and this person wasn't wearing a rocket uniform, but a blue and tan hoodie. It was the girl that Brock had run into earlier.

Brock's curiosity outweighed his intuition as he advanced dangerously close to the pack. Eventually, he was close enough that he could make out every detail of what was going on.

There were eight grunts, all of them sleeping around the fire. Their guns were lying at their sides, clearly unguarded. "_Strange," _thought Brock, "_someone oughta be keeping watch."_ The girl wasn't actually _sitting _against the tree – thick rope bound her to it. Glistening blood littered her face in various places, her blonde hair strewn down her shoulders. "_OK, this is too weird. Why wouldn't they just kill her like anyone else? Well, I'm not just about to leave her here to die. I gotta do something._"

Brock sidestepped around their area so that he was behind the girl. He could see that she was weakly struggling to get out, but didn't have the energy to put up a feasible fight. A glint of silver stuck out to Brock, and he noticed that a slip of duct tape had been slapped over her mouth.

Taking a deep breath, he unsheathed his knife and walked up to the girl from behind. Without speaking to her, he slowly started cutting at the knot that kept the rope taut. The girl, having noticed Brock, turned her head slowly toward him.

"Shhh," he whispered, "just keep quiet and you might live to see tomorrow." The girl obeyed and was silent as Brock sawed at the knot. He had to work slowly, for he was wary of making any noise at all.

After what seemed like hours, the knife finally broke the knot in two. As Brock was unwrapping the rope around the girl, he realized something that he probably should've before: "_Who knows who this girl is! She could be with them, and this could've been a ploy to lure me over! If not that, then who knows what!"_

He finished uncoiling the rope as she removed the duct tape from her mouth. "Thanks," she whispered, "I-"

"Don't follow me." Brock hissed.

Before the girl could respond, Brock was back on his feet, jogging away from the scene. It was the sound of rapid gunshots that made him sprint. Assuming that they were aimed at him, he threw his hands over his head as tried to run over the thick forestry. He fell over several times, but he pushed forward, noise reduction being the least of his worries. If the gunfire didn't care for being quiet, then why should he?

The gunfire didn't last long, but Brock kept running long after it ceased. He only stopped when he fell and couldn't immediately get up. Panting heavily, he sat up after making sure that no one was following him. At this point, Brock didn't care for his safety; he just wanted a few more hours of uninterrupted sleep. He looked up at a tree. "_Sleeping in a tree sounds pretty comfortable right about now."_

* * *

**As usual, reviews, concrits, or just a general "Hey, this is great" is always appreciated. Not much to say this time, but there **_**is **_**a poll up on my profile regarding the story I'll be doing **_**after **_**this one (but this one is only about halfway done).**

**Thanks for reading!**


	18. Chapter 18

_She saw nothing, heard nothing, felt nothing. Reaching out in front of her, her arm appeared blurry and undefined. She only remembered the sound of gunshots. That, and a shooting pain in her lower back._

"Hey there," _a voice said._

_She turned to see him. The man that she had killed. "_Wait," _she thought, "_if he's dead, and he's here, then that must mean…"

"We're dead, right?" _she said._

"I am," _the man said. "_But you're not. You'll wish you were, though."

_She couldn't respond before the man pulled out a gun, the same one that she killed him with, and repeatedly pulled the trigger. For the first time, she felt the pain of a bullet, the pain of receiving a life-threatening wound. _

_ The first bullet alone should have killed her, but although she felt the pain, she didn't bleed to death. She didn't bleed at all._

_ His clip should have run out of bullets, but he shot endlessly into her body. No matter how loud she screamed, how long she pleaded, how hard she fought to stop the barrage of bullets, he remained emotionless as he squeezed that trigger over and over again._

"He was right,"_ she thought amidst her shock and pain. "_I do wish I were dead." _She looked up at him. "_Please!" _she screamed, "_Please just kill me!"_ His blank face turned jovial, a maniacal laugh erupting from his throat._

* * *

_November 26_

Dawn awoke in a cold sweat. She nearly cried in relief when she pinched herself on the arm and felt a slight nerve pain. As much as she wanted to feel her body for gunshot wounds, she realized something that stopped her cold: she was in a bed_. _Not a forest floor, or a tree branch, but a _bed_. A soft, comfortable, warm bed.

A loud booming sound made Dawn coil into a ball. She expected the pain of the bullets again, but the sound of heavy rain made her realize that it was a boom of thunder.

She swallowed and lifted her head. The walls of the room that she was in were a sharp titanium white. A lamp stood on the nightstand next to her, and a fan above her on the ceiling, but neither of them was on. The only light in the room came from the flashes of lightning that burst through the window.

Not sure what to expect, Dawn stood up from bed and walked over to the window. She gasped; for starters, she was at least twenty stories high. Below her was a city, or what used to be a city. Debris and wreckage covered the streets as well as mounds of dead bodies, their colors faded out by the pouring rain. Those who _were _alive down there walked over it all without looking back. Whether they took notice or not, Dawn couldn't tell; she was too high up to see any facial expressions.

Nearly every building that she could see was either damaged or completely destroyed. Dawn recognized the Veilstone Department Store, its windows shattered and its normally white exterior stained black from smoke.

"Veilstone…" she said under her breath, "how did I get here?" The events from the previous day suddenly came back to her. Lance's death, the black smoke, the figure that was shouting at her; she realized that, whoever that was, this had to be their room.

The sound of a door creaking open alerted Dawn. She reached for her knife, but panicked when it wasn't at her hip. Come to think of it, she hadn't seen her pack or her pokémon, either. Even though she knew that she probably didn't have anything to fear, she crouched behind the bed.

The door fully opened to reveal a red-haired girl, sunglasses hung over her maroon sweater. She held an orange jacket, streaks of dried blood running down it. It didn't matter to Dawn that her face was painted with blood and dirt; she was able to recognize it almost immediately, even in the nearly dark room.

"Zoey!" she exclaimed. They both ran up to each other and embraced for nearly a minute. "What the hell happened?" Dawn asked, "Why were they trying to execute you?"

"I could ask the same thing!" Zoey responded. "Why the hell do they want you guys so badly?"

"Long story. Where are we?"

"Veilstone," Zoey replied. "I got here two days ago. This whole apartment building is abandoned. I'm pretty sure we're the only ones here." They both let each other go from the embrace. "You hungry? It's just about breakfast time, and you haven't eaten since I found you."

Dawn nodded as they both walked out of the room and down a staircase. "I was out hunting yesterday and I thought I heard Ash screaming or something," Zoey said. Dawn winced, having been reminded of his reaction to Lance's death. "I chased in that direction once the gunfire broke out," she continued, "I never did find Ash. I think I saw him running past me, but I'm not sure."

They reached the living room, where Dawn found her pack and knife lying neatly on a marble coffee table. Next to it laid a rifle, which she presumed to be Zoey's.

"Do you even know who lives in this apartment?" Dawn asked.

"Nope," Zoey said, "but whoever it is hasn't been here since I have, so they're probably dead." She pulled out a small bag of beef jerky from her pocket. "There isn't much food here, and the electricity and the water's not running. The stove still works, though, but there isn't anything to cook."

Dawn sighed, having relished briefly at the thought of a clean, steamy shower. She held her hand out for some jerky, which Zoey gave to her.

"So," Dawn said, "exactly how did you do it?"

"Get myself almost killed?"

"Yeah, I heard on the radio that you killed a bunch of grunts to get out."

Zoey sighed. "I was at home when the invasion happened. Snowpoint didn't take too much damage. I thought I was safe staying there, and so did my parents. But apparently winning that Grand Festival didn't work out in my favor. Nope, by nightfall my parents were dead and I was in Empire custody, same as the other Gym leaders and league officials."

"I'm so sorry," Dawn said. "_To hell with Lance's stupid advice, I'll be sorry if I damn well please." _"But what's the point of all this?" Dawn asked. "Why would the empire kill the most important figures and just rule over us?"

"There isn't one," Zoey said grimly, "they just came in and did whatever the hell they want. Same thing happened in a lot of the other regions, too. Anyways, they rounded up the big names throughout Sinnoh and took us to Hearthome. Confiscated our pokémon and everything, too. I think there were something like fifteen of us – gym leaders, Elite Four, Cynthia, and a few others, myself included."

"But how'd you get out?"

Zoey was silent for a few seconds, then swallowed. "The day they were gonna execute us, they had us all lined up in the public square, in Hearthome. A firing squad was set up there. The sick part about it was that they forced the people to choose which one would go first."

"You mean that people are actually supporting what they're doing?!" Dawn cried.

"If you're referring to the complete and utter lies that the Empire is putting out, then yes. Only a few people, but a few people are all the empire needs."

Dawn said nothing as the news sunk in. The fact that this new government wasn't going away any time soon struck her particularly hard.

Zoey cleared her throat. "So anyways, the Empire had the people watching the executions that day to choose who got killed first, like some sick reality show."

"So who'd they pick?"

Zoey looked at Dawn uneasily. "Me," said Zoey. "Maybe it was because I was one of the odd ones out, not being a Gym Leader and all, but that's not the point."

"Son of a bitch," Dawn said. "But can you cut to the chase? About how you escaped?"

Zoey chuckled. "Well, if you insist. The grunt who escorted me to the firing line had two guns: an assault rifle in his hand and a pistol in his hip holster. He was stupid enough to leave the safety off on the pistol. I just saw my chance and grabbed his pistol. He was dead before he could shoot back."

She didn't explain about what happened after, but Dawn didn't have to listen to it to know how the rest went down. "The others," Dawn said, "do you know if they're okay?"

"The league officials?"

Dawn nodded.

"No, I'm not sure," answered Zoey. "Not all of them at least. I saw Gardenia and Byron go down, but I have no clue about anyone else."

"You've got some serious guts to do that," Dawn said, "and that goes for saving my life yesterday, too."

"You know me," Zoey replied, "I'm tough. I might be a bit younger than you, but that doesn't mean a damn thing."

Dawn laughed, surprised that she was still able to do so. "I suppose you don't know what happened to my friends?"

Zoey shook her head. "Like I said, I think I saw Ash running during the firefight yesterday, but I'm not sure it was him. I can't speak for Brock, though."

Dawn suddenly remembered about Brock, about how he had left, according to Lance. "He wasn't with us that morning, so I'm not sure."

There was an awkward silence that followed. Dawn's attention turned to her pack, lying on the coffee table. "I have a bit of food in here, if you wanna cook that," Dawn offered.

"Sounds good," said Zoey, "I haven't had any real food in days. It's all been wild pokémon and plants. Redneck shit, if you will." Dawn handed her a can of chili as Zoey got up and walked to the kitchen, which was behind Dawn.

"Wait," said Zoey, "I do have one question though."

Dawn turned to her. "Yeah?"

"I had heard that Lance, that dragon guy, was on the run, too. His bounty was just as high as yours. Was he travelling with you?"

The full force of what Dawn had done the previous day came back to her like the aftershock of an earthquake. She struggled to keep her guilt hidden from Zoey.

"Yeah, he was. The grunts killed him yesterday," she lied, "I saw it."

Zoey looked down to the ground. "I-I-I'm sorry," she mumbled, "I didn't k-know that-"

"Just don't worry about it," Dawn interrupted, "it's nothing, really."

Zoey looked up again. "But why is it that they wanna find you guys so-"

"Please, Zoey, just leave it for later!" Dawn cried. Zoey wordlessly retreated into the kitchen as Dawn was left to soak in her own guilt.

* * *

A searing pain blazed down Ash's leg when he woke up. His whole body felt as if it was on fire, and the pain blinded him to the point that he could hardly see. He clutched his leg, only to cause more pain. His heart thumped at a breakneck pace, and he could hardly breathe.

"_Shit, this whole cave's on fire!" _Ash thought. He tried to push himself onto his feet, but the unbearable pain would hardly let him move. Pikachu and Torkoal tried to ask Ash what was going on, but Ash couldn't hear them over his bloodcurdling screams. "_Great, after all this I'm left to die in some stupid fire!"_

He turned his head toward the mouth of the cave, which provided the only light. The egg had since stopped giving off its bluish glow. "_Wait a minute, if it's dark except for that light, then where's the fire?"_

Putting his hand to his forehead, it shocked Ash to feel how hot his skin was. Gasping for breath, he tried to down some water, but he couldn't bring himself to swallow. He sputtered the water onto his ruined leg. Pikachu was screaming at Ash to look at him, but Ash's screaming drowned him out.

"_My leg, what the hell's wrong with my leg?"_ He took his knife and cut away the bandage that was around his gunshot wounds. Ripping away the wrapping, he painstakingly rolled up his pant leg to see what the matter was.

A large blotch of his upper leg was colored a dark red, almost as if the skin had been burnt off. Fresh blood dotted the area here and there. Ash's heart sank when he noticed a very large portion of his skin was raised. He immediately recognized it to be cellulitis.

The only thing that Ash could think of was, "_Oh shit, this is gonna kill me." _Lance had explained the dangers of viral infections a few days prior, and this one was on the top of his list. "Out here, cellulitis will just about kill you." echoed Lance. The only thing that you have that can stop it is…"

"_What was it?" _Ash thought frantically. "_What was it that stops this thing? It was peni….peni…peni - something!"_

He grabbed for his pack and fumbled around for the boxes of medicine. He tried to read what each one was, but he couldn't make out a single word amidst his pain and confusion. "_Peni…peni…peni…"_

Suddenly, he dropped everything, and he slumped to the rocky cave floor. His eyes fluttered, and his breathing was still rapid. "_Well, I guess this is a better way of dying than being shot. Or tortured. Or blown up."_

Ash fixated on the cabin, which seemed miniscule from inside the cave. He was quickly fading away, the thought of peni-something still running through his mind. "_Oh forget it," _Ash finally thought, "_even if I did remember what it is, it probably wouldn't even help no-"_

_ "Penicillin. It was penicillin."_

_ "_Penicillin," Ash mumbled to himself. He saw Pikachu digging in his backpack just as he blacked out.

"_Finally."_

* * *

Brock snuck up behind the wild Slowpoke, which was lapping water from a lake. He had run out of food earlier that morning, and Brock wasn't too keen on hunting, but he knew it would have to be done. The Slowpoke either didn't hear Brock sneaking up behind him or was too slow to react to him; Brock preferred to think that it was former.

He slowly pulled out his knife, preparing himself to slit its throat. The Slowpoke sluggishly turned its head as Brock froze in place. It remained unmoving for a few moments, then got up and walked away, almost as if it were in a trance.

Brock cursed under his breath as he contemplated chasing after it. He decided against it as it disappeared from the open lake and into the dense forest. "_Why does it just walk away like that?" _he wondered.

It didn't take him long to find out. The smell of sweet roses penetrated Brock's nose, and he instantly felt relaxed. The odor only grew sweeter by the second, and…what was it? Relief? Yes, relief, Brock decided. Relief seemed to fill Brock's entire body, like his entire body could smell the roses.

He found himself walking toward the dense cover that the Slowpoke had, unaware of the source of the aroma. Brock knew in his mind that he might be going into a trap, but his body kept pressing forward, like he was hypnotized. As much as he wanted to run from it, he was forced to keep going.

The sweet and alluring scent vanished the moment Brock stepped into the forest cover. He was suddenly left there, with no memory of what just happened.

To his right was a large and brightly colored plant, much brighter than the rest of the foliage around him. Brock was immediately intrigued by this; the plant was the only one like it that he could see, and even then he had never seen something like this before.

A loud squeal alerted Brock, and he turned to see the Slowpoke from earlier, bleeding and limping. A thick, green vine came up from behind it and drove itself into the Slowpoke's stomach, effectively killing it.

The bright plant suddenly burst to life, revealing itself to be a Roserade. From behind Slowpoke's carcass came a second Roserade, its thorny arms dripping in poison.

Brock started running just as the two pokémon noticed him. They gave chase, vines lashing at Brock as he plowed through the forest. He felt a vine try to wrap around his ankle, but he shook it off as he jumped over a log.

Another vine wrapped around his stomach, but Brock wasn't so lucky this time. It brought him to the ground as he made a hard landing. He was quickly dragged toward the two Roserade as he struggled to release himself. Out of desperation, Brock took his knife and slashed it across the appendage, causing one of the Roserade cried in pain.

He was back on his feet, but not for long. An extremely thick vine curled itself around Brock's neck, downing him for good. The vine's grip was so tight, Brock couldn't tell whether or not it was trying to suffocate him or snap his neck. Probably both, he thought.

Any attempt he made for breath was fruitless. He quickly turned blue in the face and was floundering on the ground. A Roserade landed on Brock's chest and stared him down menacingly. It grinned as it raised an arm, revealing a barb dripping in venom.

Adrenaline pumped through Brock's veins, but even that couldn't get him away. He closed his eyes, waiting for the arm of death to claim him.

He felt blood splatter on his face, but he quickly realized that it was not his. The weight of Roserade's body on his chest was alleviated as he heard a _thud _to his side. He opened his eyes to see that it was dead, its bright green face now a dark crimson. The tightness around his neck loosened, and Brock rubbed it tensely. He couldn't see the second Roserade, so he presumed that it ran off.

"You?" a voice exclaimed.

Brock turned to see the girl in the blue hoodie, the same one that he'd saved last night. Her blonde hair was in a tangled mess. He began to get up to run away, but the girl pointed a rifle to his chest and said, "No. You're not going anywhere until you explain to me why you're on every wanted poster in Sinnoh."

"You know why. Theft, assault, murder, and evasion of arrest," he parroted. He stood up slowly, not wanting to set off the girl. "What Iwant to know is why they want YOU. Those grunts didn't kill you last night, they must've wanted something from you."

She lowered her gun. "Not from me specifically," she said, "but they don't just kill people anymore. They're so damn obsessed with finding you and your little friends that they'll interrogate _anyone _for information."

Brock felt like he had been punched in the stomach. "Is it really that serious?"

"Well they didn't beat me and tie me up last night for milk and cookies," she said. "Now it's your turn. Why do they want you, really?"

He sighed. "The day before the invasion, we found this egg. We don't –"

"Who's we?" the girl demanded.

"My friends. Even you should know that, they were on those wanted posters too. Anyways, we don't know what's in it or why it's important, but the Empire wants it, and badly."

The girl eyed him suspiciously. "So where are they at? Your friends, I mean."

"One of them's dead, and the others are okay, I think. But I don't know for sure."

"So it's just you for now?"

"Yep. I left them, but now I need to find them again."

"I think you could use some help with that," the girl offered.

Brock opened his mouth to reject her offer, but then he reconsidered. "_We can't survive out here without either running into each other or saving each other's life," _he thought, "_and if I leave her now, we'll probably just find each other again."_

"Sure," Brock finally said, "why not. No introductions – if something happens to us, I don't wanna give anyone your name during an interrogation or something. Fair?"

"Fair." The girl said. "I saw you hunting by the lake. You need food?"

Brock had never agreed to anything faster in his life.

* * *

**Hey guys, so as you can tell I did something a little bit different with the opening scene, and I was pretty happy with how it turned out. As usual, reviews, criticism, concrits, etc. are always welcomed! Thanks for reading!**

**P.S. The next chapter might be out a little later than normal. Just so you know! ^u^**


	19. Chapter 19

_November 26_

Brock ate in silence, watching the girl tend to her pokémon. A Pidgeot cooed as she brushed her mane, while a Porygon ate alongside Brock.

"I've never seen one of these before," he said.

The girl turned to him. "Porygon?"

He nodded.

"Yeah, not a lot of people have. My Dad was an exec over at Devon Corp, in Hoenn. He still is, provided that he's alive. You know what he said, the last time I saw him? He told me that there was a resistance forming against these guys. That we'd be able to drive them out from the places they've taken over. He called them the'G-Men' or something. Apparently all of the execs knew this, but for some-"

The word "Exec" bothered Brock for an unknown reason. Somehow the thought of a generic, high-ranking leader haunted him. The girl noticed this readily, silencing herself mid-sentence.

"What's wrong?"

Brock sighed before answering. "What's Jasper's deal?"

"Who's Jasper?"

"You know," said Brock, "the Empire's executive head or whatever. What's up his ass that he has to take over the region for no reason?"

She considered the question. "Well, I'm not so sure. I've heard some people call him a genius, and I've heard others call him insane."

Brock was silent for a moment. "What do you think?"

She sighed. "Neither."

"Neither?" Brock asked, his eyebrows burrowing on his face.

"Neither," she repeated. "See, there's a fine line between genius and insanity. I think that Jasper is right in the middle of that line. It's not his guns that kill people; it's the _people_ that kill people. It's not the weapon that does it, but the person behind their trigger. And not the person that's physically holding the gun, but who's commanding them. His motive, his thoughts…that's what kills people."

"That doesn't quite answer my question, though. _Why _would he do it is what I'm trying to get at."

"Why are you asking, exactly?" she said somewhat rudely. "Not that it isn't any of your business, but what's the point of asking?"

Brock shrugged. "I was just curious, I guess. Sorry if I made you mad." He finished his food and set his plate aside. "So where were you, when it happened, uhh….what can I call you?"

She blew a lock of her blonde hair out of her face, which gave her an idea. "Blondie," she said. "Just call me Blondie."

"Alright then," he said. "Anyways, back to my question. Where were you, Blondie, when it happened?"

She didn't have to ask him to know what he meant by that. "Jubilife," she replied. "And man, you could hardly recognize the place after those missiles hit. From what I saw, there was only one building standing when I left."

"It was just as bad in Hearthome, too," Brock said. "That's where me and my friends were." The thought of the others and their possible deaths caused his stomach to lurch. "Were you travelling with anyone?"

Blondie's casual expression turned into a grim one. She shot Brock a look that was void of any happiness, her eyes a black hole of despair. "My boyfriend," she said, her voice starting to tremble. "He got hit by shrapnel, and…" she couldn't finish her sentence, for her voice broke completely and she broke into a hysterical sob.

He didn't quite know how to respond, so he awkwardly hugged her as she calmed down. "I'm sorry," she said, "I just-"

"Don't worry about it," Brock interrupted. Blondie wiped her tears as she stood up, calling her pokémon back into their balls.

"So exactly which way are we headed?" she asked, her voice still quavering a bit.

Brock pointed to his left. "I'm pretty sure that the others were over in that direction when I left. They'll have moved by now, but it's a good start."

She shook her head. "Going where you saw them last is a waste of time. I think that they would've gone south, maybe that way." She pointed southeast.

"Alright then, let's compromise. We'll go East South East. That's in the middle of where we wanted to go."

"Fine," Blondie said curtly. They walked in near silence for the rest of the day; the only time they spoke was when Blondie commented on Brock's ear wound.

"How long has that been wrapped up like that?"

Brock shrugged. "A while, I guess. I haven't changed it too often."

She said nothing as they kept trekking onward. The day turned into twilight as they eventually stopped for the night. They started a fire and fed their pokémon ritualistically; Brock found the process to be the low point of his day. "_I wonder if Blondie would agree," _he thought, but he decided against asking her.

Their box of rice was eaten in silence. "_She's awful quiet for having just met me," _he thought, "_you'd think that she'd be a bit more sociable. Then again, her boyfriend is dead, and there isn't much to talk about…pretty ornery, as far as they go, too."_

"When do you think it'll happen?" she said suddenly.

"When what'll happen?"

"Death. Brock, there's no point in denying that they're gonna kill us out here eventually, it's just a matter of when."

Brock's heart sank. Firstly, she had a point; they _would _die out here soon enough. Secondly, he wasn't the best at handling conversations like this; that was one of Ash's strong suits.

"I mean, with that attitude, maybe. I've already had a few close brushes with death and I got out alright-"

"But I didn't!" she cried. "they almost killed me last night, and if it weren't for you I would have died! Even if we don't die immediately they will at some point, and who knows when –"

Brock didn't hear the rest, for a flash of red had lured his attention. He left Blondie hanging as he jogged toward the red…whatever it was. Picking it up, he found that it was a fragment of smooth silk, red on one side and black on the other.

"I feel like I've seen this before," Brock said under his breath. He looked over at Blondie, who was fixated on the tree directly next to Brock. He turned to see a dark blood stain, painted vertically down the trunk. Looking down again at the fragment, it all suddenly made sense. Brock dropped it in shock, backing away from the tree slowly.

"Brock, what the hell is that?" Blondie asked, failing to keep the fear from her voice.

Suddenly, Brock simply lost it. "ASH!" he shouted, "DAWN! WHERE ARE YOU? GUYS!"

"Brock, stop it!" cried Blondie, "you're gonna attract attenti-"

"DAWN! PIKACHU! ASH! **GUYS!"**

Blondie resorted to tackling Brock to the ground, which cut off his cries as the wind was knocked out of him. She sat him up against a tree. "Brock, what the hell is going on? What _is _that thing?"

He was barely able to breathe slowly enough to speak. "It was….huff….Lance's….huff….he's the one….that died…. And the others may have, too. I thought…that they might be here."

She sighed. "With the way you're shouting _we'll _be the dead ones!"

"For someone who was so nervous about death a minute ago, you sure are outspoken against it now!" Brock got up and dusted the dirt from his pants. "This is where everyone was yesterday," he explained shakily, "and by the looks of it, where those Grunts killed him. Ash and Dawn are still alive, I think."

"So what's the plan, exactly? Just wander around and hope we'll find them while we try not to die, like this guy did?"

Brock turned to her. "His name was Lance, and if it's any indication we might be able to figure out where everyone else went!"

"Excuse me, but exactly when did this become about you and your friends?"

"How about when you tagged along to help me find them in the first place!" His voice was rising again, and even Blondie was too intimidated to calm him. "And if you don't like it, then you can just leave! Go on, I won't stop you!"

Blondie stared him down, attempting to intimidate him. It took only a few seconds for her to give up. "Forget it," she said bitterly, "just set up camp for the night."

Brock pointed up to a tree, one that was far away from the bloodied one. "_No way in hell I'm gonna sleep in the same tree that Lance died under," _he thought.

She looked to where Brock was pointing before she exclaimed, "Oh hell no! There's no way that I'm sleeping in a tree."

Brock sighed in exasperation. "Something tells me that you weren't sleeping in one last night. Now, if you don't want what happened last night to happen again, then I suggest that you get in that tree."

She shot one final look at him, one that translated to, "I swear that if you didn't save my life then I'd take yours." Scaling the tree, Brock followed suit.

"We'll find a river tomorrow," he said as he pulled himself up, "That way we'll have some kind of a path to follow."

Blondie only grunted as she laid herself down on a branch. Wordlessly pulling out a blanket, she turned her back to Brock and fell asleep.

"_Blondie. What a stupid name," _he thought.

* * *

The sofa's soft, woolen material immediately told Ash that he wasn't dead. "_Damn it,"_ he thought. He fancied the idea of slipping from life. That way, he wouldn't have to put up with the Empire's shit.

He sat himself up to meet the red sunlight that poured in from the adjacent window. He glanced down at his watch, which displayed "5:09 PM" in monochrome display. Pikachu was snoring at Ash's feet. The other pokémon were nowhere to be seen.

Ash tried to get up off of the couch, but the stinging pain in his leg reminded him of the day's earlier events. Rolling up his pant leg, he was unsure of what to expect, or what he wanted to expect.

The redness of his skin was completely gone, the only red coming from the handfuls of dried blood. The skin was no longer raised; there was absolutely zero trace of any cellulitis. The only abnormalities he could see were the two bullet holes, exactly one inch apart from each other.

"_How the hell did I survive that?" _He thought. Ash, noticing that his backpack was by his feet, grabbed it and opened the main pocket. The first thing he saw was one of the medicine boxes, which had been hastily opened by the looks of it. Flipping the box over, he saw the label on it in small, black lettering: "_Penicillin antibiotic. For oral use only." _He looked in the box to see that two of the pills were missing, having been punched out of the sheet of twenty.

Everything that had happened after he had passed out suddenly became clear to him. Pikachu must have forced it into his throat after he had fainted. He probably had Dragonite take him to the cabin that he saw last night. "_His ingenuity saved my life," _he realized. Ash grinned at Pikachu, who was still sleeping.

Going back to his leg, he squinted to see a glint of silver; he quickly realized that it was the bullet, lodged in his leg far beyond retrieval.

"_Shit, now I'll never be able to get those out of there," _he thought, "_at least not without passing out from the pain."_ He sat on the couch in futility until an idea dawned on him. Ash dug through his backpack and pulled out Magnezone's Poke Ball.

"Magnezone, do you know the move Gravity?"

He nodded.

"OK, well this is gonna sound crazy, but here's what I need you to do. I need you to use Gravity to get these bullets out of my leg, and do it-"

Magnezone cut him off, immediately shouting his protest.

"Dammit Magnezone, please just don't question me and do it!"

Magnezone was silenced for a moment before nodding in agreement. Ash grabbed from his pack the Poke Ball with supplies, unleashing it as the mound of items landed with a _clunk _on the wood floor. He had to sift to the bottom of the pile to find what he was looking for: the white roll of bandages, the same ones that he had used to wrap up his leg the previous day.

The thought of having bullets ripped from his body unsettled him. Terrified was more like it, Ash thought. "_I know that I need to walk again, and I gotta get these bullets out of me to do that. But what if this doesn't work? Will I just bleed to death?"_

"Magnezone, on my count of three, okay?" Ash said.

Magnezone nodded, but the look in its eyes showed that he wasn't ready. Ash shoved his fist into his mouth to muffle the screams that he knew would come.

"One," Ash muffled. Magnezone grew more worried.

"Two."

"Three!"

Ash could feel the bullets being ripped from his leg, the pain far more intense than when he had been shot. Even his fist could not muffle the high pitched scream that ensued. The bloody bullets clinked onto the floor, and Ash could see a look of apology on Magnezone's face. Pikachu had woken up, shouting at Ash to calm down, unaware of what had happened. Ash couldn't hear him, though.

"Good job, Magnezone," Ash said once he stopped screaming. He took the bandages and wrapped it around the wounds, which began to expel a fresh batch of blood. It seeped through the bandage, but slowed down and eventually stopped.

It was only now that he allowed himself to survey the room he was in. The couch was a dull leathery brown, and was torn up in a few places. Blending in with the brown couch was the brown, wooden walls and floor, which were laden with paintings and bookshelves. A small TV lay on the floor opposite Ash, the front door to his left. To his left looked to be a kitchen, with a table, fridge, and stove lined up together facing a slew of cabinets. Past the kitchen was a hallway, which probably had a bedroom, or a bathroom.

He called Magnezone back to his Poke Ball, pocketing his Poke Ball as he stood up. His leg still hurt, but the pain was more tolerable this time. With a small spark of optimism, he walked the five steps or so into the kitchen. The pain was still there, but with a few painkillers and some willpower, what was to keep him off of his feet?

Ash looked out the window, which was above the sink in the kitchen. The cave was barely visible from where he stood, and beyond that the mystery city. "_Yeah, this is definitely that cabin," _he thought. But eventually, that thought became, "_Oh shit, I'm in someone's cabin!"_

"Hello?" he called out. The only thing that responded was silence.

"Hello?" he repeated, this time a little bit louder. Again, silence.

He looked over at Pikachu, who was watching him intently from the sofa. "Pikachu, wait here. I'm checking this place out."

Pikachu nodded as Ash pulled his gun from his hip and ventured into the hallway. Cautiously grasping a doorknob, he swung the door opened, keeping his gun pointed to the floor. The bedroom he had walked into was empty, but there was a light on anyways. Ash recognized this to be the light that he had seen last night.

"Hello?" he called out once more as he flipped the light switch off. When no one called back, he had decided that whoever lived here had long since abandoned it. Ash walked out of the bedroom and into the hallway, where Pikachu stood waiting for him.

"I thought I told you to stay in the living room," Ash said sternly.

Pikachu shrugged. "Pik_aaa_" he said unapologetically.

Ash sighed as he walked with Pikachu back into the kitchen. His eyes caught the old, whirring fridge, and he opened it. The cool blast of air nearly sent him running. In a warm cabin like this, cold was the first thing he _didn't _wanna see. He mustered the courage to look inside the fridge for its contents. All he saw was a gallon of milk that had long since spoiled and some rotten celery. Ash sighed in disappointment; he at least wanted to find some decent food, or maybe some ketchup for Pikachu.

Picking up the spoiled celery in disgust, Ash picked out a few spots on it that might be edible. He set it aside and opened the freezer, which was attached to the fridge. A gallon of vanilla ice cream and a frozen ham was all that was in there.

The ham didn't look gourmet; upon further inspection, Ash saw that it was a Grumpig. "_Not exactly the tastiest, but it'll do," _he thought. He then opened up the tub of ice cream to see that it was half full.

Ash suddenly became giddy; it had been ages since he had any of the delicacy, and the fact that his life was in danger only seemed to make it more appetizing. Beaming, he turned to see that Pikachu had an equally eager look.

"You know," Ash said, "I don't remember there being a law that said we can't have ice cream for dinner. Do you?"

Pikachu, hardly containing his excitement, shook his head.

"Well, ice cream it is, then!" Ash exclaimed.

Pikachu cheered as Ash opened the cupboard to find a set of plastic bowls. He wasn't able to find an ice cream scooper anywhere, so he had to settle for a large spoon, one of the seven that he had found. He dished out the ice cream in four bowls; one for him and Pikachu to share, the other three for Dragonite, Magnezone, and Torkoal.

The four pokémon and Ash made for a rather tight fit in the cabin. There was only room for Magnezone in the kitchen, and Lance's other pokémon had to eat in the living room. Ash and Pikachu were scrunched up at the small table, Magnezone hovering next to them.

"Pikachu, you can have the first crack at it," said Ash, "I'm gonna go feed Magnezone. Don't eat all of that, okay?"

He nodded as he brought the second bowl of ice cream to Magnezone. He ate it rather slowly, since electric types weren't accustomed to cold foods. But Ash was pleased that he didn't complain about it, since any food was good food these days.

Magnezone had only halved the dessert in his bowl when Ash took notice of the telephone on the counter. It was one of those rotary dialers, the ones where you had to slide the number around the dial and wait for the dial to reset before putting in the next number. "_They haven't made these in a hundred years. It'd be a miracle if this thing even worked!"_

Ash picked up the headset and was shocked to hear the dull dial tone. He quickly lowered the phone from his head and held it, shaking violently. "_I could use this to call Dawn's mom," _he thought, "_or even my mom. My mom…" _the thought of her mother, likely long dead, came back again as he shuddered. "_And Lance had mentioned as well about the censorship…what if I call my mother and it's just some imposter, acting like she's actually her…"_

"Man up!" Ash told himself, "it's better to pretend she's okay than to not know at all. He dialed the region code for Kanto, 3, and waited for the dial to return. When it did, he put in the rest of the number: 538-2486.

Shuddering in anticipation, he held the phone up to his head, but was immediately met with a cool, female voice:

"_We're sorry, but inter-regional calls cannot-"_

Ash cursed as he hung up the phone before the voice could finish. He sighed and turned to Pikachu, who looked at him sadly, knowing full well what was going on.

"Go ahead and finish the rest of that ice cream," Ash said. "I'm not hungry." He went into the hallway, but Pikachu was following closely behind him. Ash turned to tell him to go away, to just leave him alone, but the thought of Dawn somehow popped into his head.

"_She could be dead, flat out DEAD. Deaddeaddeaddeaddead!"_ The word replayed through his mind like a skipping record. He nearly fell to his knees in horror of the thought. But then his mind jumped to her mother. There was no telling whether _she _was alive. Who's to say she wasn't?

He slowly walked back to the phone and dialed the number for her house: 237-5489.

The first ring. Nothing.

The second ring. Nothing.

The third ring. Nothing.

The fourth ring.

"_Hello?" _said a woman's voice.

Ash said nothing, afraid that this wasn't Dawn's mother, but some imposter, or a completely different woman who just happened to pick up her phone. It _did _sound like it was her, but still…

"_Hello?!" _said the voice again.

"_That's it," _Ash thought, "_that's definitely her."_

He gulped. "Mrs. Berlitz?" he said.

"Umm, I'm not sure if I have any of those left," she said in a high voice, "but let me check in the other room."

There was a fit of shuffling footsteps on her line, but Ash had no idea what was going on. "Mrs. Berlitz? Are you there?" he asked. "Mrs. Berlitz? Johanna?"

She finally came back on the line. "Ash, where the hell are you?" she said, this time in a much lower voice. "And what about Dawn?"

"I'm not sure. We all got separated, and-"

"Ash, listen to me." she said. "I can't stay on the line for long. But you need to watch out for yourself, the Empire has their men looking all over for-"

"Yes, I know," Ash interrupted, "they've come close to killing us a few times. But I'm not sure where your daughter is, Johanna, I-I'm…" he had trouble getting the words out.

"Don't you worry about her," she said sternly, "whatever happens, happens. You only need to worry about yourself for now, because if you get yourself killed then she'll be out of luck, too. She's able to survive on her own; she's smart, and quick, you know that."

"Yeah, of course," Ash said, "but when she's up against dozens of-"

"Ash, what did I just say? I mean, if you want to go looking for her, then that's fine by me. But you need to be careful, understand?"

Ash nodded, unable to register that she wasn't able to see it.

"Good," she said to his silence. "I have to go, now. If you find her, tell her I'm okay. Don't call this number again."

"But wait!" Ash exclaimed, but Mrs. Berlitz had already hung up the phone, leaving Ash more worried about Dawn than before.

**Hey guys, sorry for the late update. Right when I decide that I might have a stretch of free time, my Journalism supervisor slaps me in the face with a 60 slide PowerPoint that I was given three days to do. Yeah, not fun at all.**

**Anyways, it looks like the updates to this story could be a little less frequent from now until I'm finished with finals (June 7****th****). There will be one or two chapters in between them, because I'm spending a lot of my time preparing for those exams.**

**In any case, reviews, concrits, or a general "this kicks ass, I want more" is always welcome. Thanks for reading!**

**Oh, and one more thing: I might be starting a side project soon that's based around Team Magma and Team Aqua. Not sure if I'm gonna do it yet, but if I do be sure to watch out for that!**


	20. Chapter 20

_November 26_

"I have an extra pistol for you, if you need one," Zoey offered. She pulled from her sack a gun that had no clip in it. She and Dawn sat across from each other on couches that faced the coffee table. "It might not have as much fire power as my rifle, but it'll help if something happens."

Dawn winced at the sight of the pistol as Piplup slept in her lap. It only reminded her of Lance's gun, the one that she had used to kill him.

"Just lay it down on the coffee table, alright?" Dawn said. Zoey did so, noticing her uneasiness.

"You okay?" Zoey said.

Dawn looked at her. "Fine," she said. "Just fine. How about some dinner? I have some Stantler meat that you can fry up."

Zoey grimaced at the sound of the word 'Stantler'. "I suppose," she said, "but only since we don't have anything else." Dawn handed her the Poké Ball that had the Stantler in it, and then Zoey walked into the kitchen to begin cooking dinner.

Stroking Piplup's fur, she sat in the living room in silence. "Oh Piplup," she said under her breath, but Piplup was still sleeping.

"You say something?" Zoey called from the other room.

"Just that I was starting to get a bit hungry," Dawn lied. Suddenly, the sound of bombs detonating from outside made Dawn and Piplup hit the floor. Zoey calmly walked into the living room and laughed.

"What the hell?" Dawn exclaimed, "There's a bomb going off and you're laughing about it?"

"When it's about three blocks away, then yes. Those happen a lot around here, almost daily. By the sound of it, it's just a reminder from the Empire to keep us in line. That's my guess, anyways."

Dawn let out a shuddery sigh of relief.

"Dinner's done," Zoey said, "it turns out that this stuff cooks rather quickly."

* * *

Ash surveyed himself in the bathroom mirror, taking in his egregious physical appearance. Bruises and cuts covered half of his face. The largest bruise, located on his right jaw, was the size of Pikachu's tail. His right eye was both blackened and bloodied, and looked like it was half shut. Dried blood was caked below his nose and mouth, making him look like some thirsty vampire. His raven hair, normally sticking out to the front, stood in all directions and had taken on a shade of brown. Ash swept his hand over it, which sent a cloud of dirt onto the floor ritualistically.

What was his chin was now a mangled mess of flesh and bone. It was twisted and deformed beyond anything that could look like a human chin. Ash was amazed that he couldn't feel any pain in that area. _"Pikachu probably snuck in a painkiller with that penicillin," _he thought.

Moving on to his chest, he saw that the blood turned all of the color on his vest and shirt into a dark shade of red. No, red was too common of a word to describe that. It was like he was wearing the blood, as if his whole upper body was composed of nothing but the blood that he had shed over the past two weeks.

No longer able to even look at his blood-ridden clothes much longer, he quickly stripped off his upper garments, now looking upon his beaten chest. _"This doesn't look much better,"_ he thought, _"it's just as bruised and bled out as my face. And…oh shit, look at all of this weight I've lost! How many pounds could I have lost in not even two weeks? Five? Ten?"_

He simply stood in front of that bathroom mirror, simply stood before his bloodied body. _"More like my bloodied corpse," _Ash thought distastefully. His throat made a retching noise as he turned away from the mirror in disgust. Accidently making eye contact with his bloodied clothes, he flung them into the garbage can that stood next to the toilet. They landed with a clang as they fell to the bottom of the metallic bin.

Ash knelt beside the wall, his feeble hands being the only thing keeping his head up as he moaned and cried. Tears stung at his ailing eye, for blood was undoubtedly getting in the way. The agony of everything that had happened came back to him again; almost everyone he was close to was either dead or presumed dead, including his pokémon. There was a pretty good chance that he'd end up dead, too. He was beaten to the point of being unrecognizable, even by his own self. Was there anything left that he could live for?

"Pikachu," he told himself, "there's Pikachu, and Lance's pokémon, and Dawn and Brock, assuming that they're alive. No, they _are _alive. You have to keep going. For them."

As if it were cued, Pikachu came scurrying in from the living room. He noticed Ash crying and immediately gave him a consoling hug. Ash responded with a pat on his back. He saw then that a small blood stain was visible on Pikachu's leg. Panic swelled inside of him as he swept his Pokémon's body for gunshot wounds. Ash sighed in relief when he didn't find any. He scratched the back of Pikachu's ear as he gave him a look of confusion.

"Pikachu," said Ash, "do you remember last week, when Lance and I…well, when Lance shot down all of those grunts, and Brock threw himself on top of you? To protect you?"

Pikachu, unsure of what Ash was trying to get to, nodded.

Ash went on. "And know how yesterday, when I was running away from that firefight? How I kept you clutched against my chest? And when Lance found us, how you wanted to defend us with Thunder Bolt? You know how I kept you from doing that?"

He nodded again.

"I know that you want to keep us safe, when stuff like that happens." Ash said. He saw that Pikachu was gazing at him deeply, absorbing every word he said as if he were Arceus himself. "But you need to understand that I'm trying to keep _you_ safe. That's why I haven't had you battle or anything. If you got seriously hurt, or even killed, I don't think I could live with myself."

Pikachu looked disappointed, yet he understood what Ash had said. "Pika Pika Chaaa?" he asked.

Ash figured that he was asking about Lance's pokémon. "Lance never used his pokémon in battle, either," Ash said, "so I'm sure that they already know."

He nodded as he licked Ash's bruised cheek, making Ash crack a smile despite the pain. "Thanks, bro," Ash said. He glanced at the shower, which was to his right. "I think I wanna take a quick shower. Hell, I probably need one. You mind waiting in the living room?"

"Pika-chu!"

"Great. Maybe one of the other pokémon will play with you while I'm in there."

Pikachu nodded and left the bathroom. Ash stripped himself of the rest of his clothes and turned on the showerhead. Stepping into the shower, he let out a long, content sigh as the hot water pelted his skin. His leg bandage kept his wound dry, so he didn't have to worry about that. Blood and dirt were flowing down his body and into the shower drain. _"This hot water is probably the best thing I've felt these past two weeks!"_

He noticed the bottle of body wash that hung on a rack above the showerhead. Brimming with giddiness, he squirted more than a handful of the gel into his palm and rubbed it over his body. It stung some of the cuts that were on his torso, but the sense of glorifying cleanliness that he felt immediately trumped that.

Once he was done with the gel, Ash let the steaming water flow over his body. He was certain that he had never felt anything so renewing, so refreshing, so rejuvenating in his whole life. _"If Pikachu wasn't an electric type, then he'd be able to enjoy this, too. I almost feel a little bit guilty. Same goes for Lance's pokémon!"_

After thirty minutes, he forced himself out of the shower and began to pat himself dry with a towel. His foot found contact with his jeans, which were stained with blood from his leg. Suddenly, the thought of putting on his old clothes made him sick to his stomach. He kicked his jeans to the side as he walked from the bathroom and into the master bedroom, wearing only the towel around his lower body.

The first thing that caught his eye was the pearly white sheets. How he didn't notice them beforehand, Ash didn't know. Next to it was a chest of drawers. He walked over to them and opened up the top drawer. A collection of hoodies and sweaters greeted him. He picked out a black hoodie and slipped it on.

The next drawer held nothing but underwear and socks. _"I wouldn't wear that if Jasper had a gun to my throat!" _he thought. He moved on to the last drawer, which had several pairs of work pants and khakis. After looking it over for a moment, he settled on a pair of dark work pants which, when combined with his black hoodie, turned him into a living shadow, his head, hands, and shoes providing the only color among his pallet of black. _"Great, first it's murder, breaking and entering, and now robbery!"_

He wanted to do something about his shoes, which looked gaudy compared to his new attire, but he decided not to. There probably weren't any extra shoes lying around, anyways.

For what seemed like no reason, he found himself in front of the bathroom mirror again, taking himself in. With his new, darker clothing, he looked completely unrecognizable now. He had lost his hat a long time ago, not long after the invasion. His clothes, which he had worn dearly since he arrived in Sinnoh two years ago, now lay crumpled in the trash like a paper bag. His face was cleaner, true, but it was still bruised and cut up beyond recognition.

_"I almost look like a completely different person,"_ Ash thought. _"It's like I'm not even Ash anymore."_ He took one last look at the new Ash, the Ash that had been changed by death and tragedy, and left the bathroom.

When he entered the living room, he saw that Pikachu and Magnezone were playing a game of hacky sack with a small ball of electricity, which provided most of the light in the room; the sun had nearly set by now. On the couch was his jacket, which was just as bloodied as his old clothes. He tossed it to the side, which revealed the pack, the one that he had taken from the grunt he killed, lying underneath.

Out of impulse, Ash opened the backpack and dumped its contents onto the couch. On the top of the pile was a box of ammo. Ash picked it up and, seeing that it was for an automatic rifle, put it to the side.

Next came two sets of the Rocket uniforms. Each set had the dull gray jumpsuit, gloves, and flat cap. Ash found it rather odd that the jumpsuits didn't have any kind of bulletproof reinforcement. He tossed the uniforms into another pile. _"If I'm seriously broke for clothes, then maybe I'll wear these."_

There was a bottle of water next to a pocket radio. _"Enemy water is better than no water,"_ he thought, _"and I lost my radio yesterday. These will be useful."_ He tossed them in the same pile as the uniforms.

By now, Pikachu had taken notice of what Ash was doing. "Pika ka chuu?" he asked, which translated into, "Is that Lance's bag?"

"No, it's-"Ash began, but the thought of Lance's sack made him remember what he had done with it yesterday. "OH SHIT!" he exclaimed as he ran out the front door of the cabin. _"His stuff is probably ruined, now that it's been out there for a day and a half, and in the rain no less!"_ He was hardly able to see a thing in what little light the dusk provided, and the dark camouflage of the surrounding forest didn't help any. Pikachu and Magnezone quickly followed Ash, who was running in the direction that he thought he had left Lance's supplies.

Ash knew he had found them when he had stepped on his supplies with his bad leg, which still wasn't full free from pain. He let out a short cry of pain as he felt Pikachu and Magnezone slam into him, knocking him down.

"Guys, help me get this stuff back into the house." Ash said, pulling himself back onto his feet.

They nodded as they grabbed a small handful of loot, with Ash left to handle the brunt of it. They carried it back to the cabin, which was only harder now, given the added weight that they had to lug back. The three of them burst through the front door and dropped everything on the kitchen floor. Pikachu couldn't even make it that far; he had dropped everything as soon as he got past the door.

Ash chuckled as Pikachu scrambled to pick everything up. "Here, let me help with that," he said as he picked up what Pikachu had dropped. When Ash placed it all by everything else, he found himself with a rather large pile of goodies to sort through. _"'Goodies' is too selfish of a word," _Ash thought suddenly. _"'Belongings' sounds more like it."_

Before he got to work, he took the Grunts pocket radio and flipped it on, finding a news broadcast almost immediately:

_"…possible resistance movement forming within the Northern Sector…"_

Ash stopped listening, but left the radio on anyway. It was nice to have some ambience while he worked. He shifted his focus back to Lance's pile, where a wad of paper stuck out. Confused as to what it could be, Ash grabbed for it to see that it was a lump of money.

_"…new confirmed causalities, including that of Lance…"_

He hastily unwadded the money and counted each bill. He ended up with twenty hundred-dollar bills, damp but otherwise usable. "Where did Lance get all of this money?" Ash thought amidst his shock, "And why didn't he use it? He could've done anything with two thousand dollars!" He looked over at Pikachu, who shared Ash's expression of shock. Ash pocketed the money as he moved on to the rest of the pile.

_"..an estimated twenty five percent of registered trainers in the region though dead…"_

Next in Lance's pile was a box of ammunition. Ash opened it to see that it was the right kind for the pistol that he had. He placed it in the pile of things he planned on keeping, which was growing at a faster rate than the discard pile.

_"…mysterious Empire reports of grunts being killed…bzzrt…bzzrt…we on?"_

The sudden disruption on the radio caught Ash's attention. He quickly dismissed it, however, and went back to the supplies. He hadn't noticed that the voice that came back was different from the one before.

_"…we on? Are we? Alright. Ash Ketchum."_

The sound of his name being recited alarmed him again. His eyes were fully focused on the pocket radio now, waiting to hear what it had to say about him.

_"Ash Ketchum,"_ it repeated, _"if you or your friends are listening to this, then listen up. The G-Men are in the region. We have resistance camps set up all over the place. We can't tell you where they are, but if you're hearing this, Ash, then know that you're not alone in trying to fight these guys. I repeat, you're not-"_

The radio cut to static, the broadcast never to return. Ash realized then just what had happened; _"The G-Men…Lance was in that organization…if they're in the region, and they're forming a resistance, then…"_

Ash looked down at his leg. The pain was still obvious, but it had deadened heavily. It no longer felt like a gunshot wound, but more like a pulled muscle. He noticed the egg, which lay on the couch and had resumed its odd, bluish glow.

"We can survive," Ash said to Pikachu, who was smiling, "there's still hope. If we can find those guys, then we just might make it out of this one alive. We just might…"

* * *

Dawn poked at her Stantler that Zoey had cooked. Zoey, on the other hand, was wolfing her portion down. She was halfway done before Dawn could even bring herself to take one bite.

"You know," Zoey said with a mouthful of meat, "I said that I didn't want to eat this earlier, but _man _is this stuff good. If I had known how good it was I would've eaten this stuff way more often!"

Dawn said nothing, her sights transfixed on the rays of the dying sun that poured in through the window. It took her a few seconds to register that Zoey had spoken. "What's that?" she said.

Zoey looked at her with worry. "Look, I know that things aren't exactly looking the best in your situation, but thinking about it is only going to make it worse. You may as well just-"

"No, it's not that," Dawn said, "it's just…I don't really know how to explain it."

"You don't need to. I don't wanna pry in on this." She took her plate to the sink as she said, "But you never did tell me about why the Empire is looking for you. Now _that _is what I wanna know about."

Dawn sighed. "What have you heard?"

"Only what's on these Wanted posters." Zoey pulled from her pocket a small slip of paper, which she handed to Dawn. What she read on it disgusted her:

**WANTED**

These trainers, known as Ash Ketchum (age 18), Brock Harrison (age 20),

Lance Luxforde (age 26), Dawn Berlitz (age 17), and Zoey McHale (age 16)

are wanted for varying crimes of theft, murder, assault, treason, and evasion of arrest

against the Rocket Empire. Ash, Dawn, and Brock were last seen in Hearthome City

on November 14, 2082. Lance was last seen on November 15, 2082. Zoey was

last seen on November 16, 2082. The reward for information leading to the

capture of these fugitives is 500,000 dollars, ALIVE. Zoey's

bounty is set at 10,000 dollars, ALIVE. They are considered to

be extremely dangerous and, if seen, should be immediately reported

to your nearest Rocket official.

**LONG LIVE THE EMPIRE**

Their pictures, all but Lance's grinning brightly, were at the top of the page. Lance's cold, crimson eyes seemed to stare into Dawn's as if they still belonged to a living body. Dawn shuddered as she covered his face with her thumb.

She wasn't surprised to see that their bounty had been raised; it seemed to go up every day that they went unseen. But she was surprised to see that they were only wanted alive. 'When did you get this?" she asked.

Zoey shrugged. "Three, maybe four days ago. I was outside of Celestic when I managed to pick one up."

"It's out of date, then. Assuming they know that Lance is…well, dead, that is. But most of this isn't exactly true. Yeah, we killed and assaulted them, but in self-defense. And the parts about theft, treason, and evasion of arrest are bullshit." She put the flyer back on the table.

Zoey scowled. "So why would they say that, then?"

"Because we have something that they want."

She stared at Dawn, expecting her to tell Zoey what it was that they wanted. "Well?" Zoey finally asked, "What is it that they want?"

Dawn was silent, nearly zoning out again before Zoey nudged her.

"An egg," Dawn snapped, her voice starting to crack, "we found this egg, and-"

Hold up," Zoey interrupted, "they're trying to kill you over an egg, of all things?"

"Yeah, but this one is…different. It came from the sky, and it doesn't look like any old egg. It's heavier, almost like a big rock. No one has any idea of what it could be."

Zoey let out a low whistle and said, "Where's it at now?"

Dawn shook her head remorsefully. "Not sure. Ash had it last, but if he's dead, then…" she suddenly burst into tears, the thought of Ash dying being simply too much for her. She felt Zoey's hand gently grasp her shoulder.

"I know that you're worried about the others," Zoey said, "and I'm really, truly sorry that you don't know where they are. But it's not worth dying out there to try and find them. Besides, you guys have been separated like this before, and it turned out all okay, right?"

"Yeah," Dawn mumbled as she lifted her head, "but this is different. We weren't running for our lives then. For all I know, Ash and Brock are dead."

"No, they're not. You have to believe that they're okay, because if you keep thinking that they're dead then you're just gonna give up. You'll want to stop living. You can't let that happen."

Dawn said nothing, her eyes focused again on Lance's petrifying eyes.

"Dawn, look at me!" Zoey snapped. She turned to meet Zoey's face, which looked almost angry. "This is about Lance, isn't it? Look, I'm sorry-"

"This isn't about Lance!" Dawn asserted. "_Don't kid yourself, Dawn; you know this has everything to do with him." _ She thought.

"No, this _is _about Lance," Zoey said, "and you need to forget about him. It's not your fault that he's dead."

Dawn nearly broke down again when she said that last part. Only she knew that it was entirely her own fault. "I just wish that I had done something," she said in a lie. "If I had done something differently, maybe he'd still be alive." "_Did he just instantly cut to black when I killed him?" _she thought, "_or was he able to feel his skull, his brain, his thoughts being shattered to pieces…"_

"It's a good thing that you didn't do anything. If you had, they would've killed you too."

Dawn sighed. "Still, I feel like it's my fault." "_I can't keep this up much longer without cracking. Oh god…"_

"Dawn, you need to understand that this isn't your fault," Zoey said. She was starting to look frustrated with Dawn. "I mean, it's not like you killed him."

"THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT I DID!" Dawn screamed, slamming her fists on the table as she stood up. "I KILLED HIM! I TOOK HIS GUN AND I SHOT HIM DEAD!" Zoey looked at her in horror before she collapsed on the table, her head buried in her arms while she sobbed.

She half-expected Zoey to start screaming bloody murder, or even just have some kind of freak attack. But she didn't. Zoey sat still, staring at Dawn with an expression of…what was it? Shock? Anger? Fear? Dawn wasn't sure.

"Was it quick?" Zoey finally said.

Her calm demeanor surprised Dawn. She lifted her head. "I'm sorry?"

"His death. Was it quick?"

Dawn wiped her tears and said, "I…Yes. He…he hardly had time to even react."

"Then that's all that matters." Zoey got up and began to walk toward the staircase.

"But what do you mean that-"Dawn began.

Zoey turned to face Dawn. "Better for him to die quick like that then have it be a slow one at the hands of the Empire, right?"

As much as Dawn hated herself at the moment, she had to admit that Zoey was right. "Sure, but…I mean, I _killed _him, for shit's sake!"

"And I don't know why you did, but I'm not sure I want to know. If it was out of malice, then you'd be a fool to try it on me. The pistol I gave you is hardly any match for my rifle. If it was out of self-defense, then hoorah for you. Looks like you defended yourself pretty damn well."

"It was a combination of both," Dawn explained, "he seemed like a threat, and-"

Zoey silenced Dawn with her hand. "Don't," Zoey said, "just don't. I'm really not in the mood for this. It's getting late, and I'm going to bed. When you decide to turn in, you know where your room is." With that, she jogged up the rest of the stairs.

Dawn began crying again when she heard Zoey slam the bedroom door shut.

* * *

**Hey guys, longer chapter this time around. Per usual, any and all reviews/concrits, etc. are appreciated. Next chapter will be out at the same time as usual. Oh, and if my followers have had their email blown up with notifications about updates to my story, I apologize. I've been fixing previous chapters, so that's why it might have happened.**

**Thanks for reading!**


	21. Chapter 21

_November 26_

Dawn stood at the end of the hallway, unsure whether she should retreat into her bedroom or try and coax Zoey out of hers. She had brooded around in the living room for a half an hour before going upstairs after Zoey. "_There's no way I can go into her room and expect her to just suddenly not hate me," _she thought. "_Then again, she'll hate me just as much tomorrow morning. No point putting off trying to talk to her."_

She walked up to her door and gently rapped on it. Zoey didn't respond, even after Dawn knocked a second time. Taking a deep breath, she turned the doorknob and walked in.

Zoey's back was to her as she faced toward the window. She sat on the bed with her rifle in her lap.

"Zoey?" Dawn said sheepishly.

She turned her head ninety degrees, facing the wall as Dawn was just within her eyesight. Her expression was cold and unforgiving, but Dawn couldn't tell if she was angry or sad or frightened or none of the above. "You here to kill me, too? Because if-"

"I don't wanna kill you!" Dawn interjected. She sighed in frustration. "I had my reasons for having to kill Lance."

"Fine. Explain it to me, then." Zoey said coldly. She set the rifle aside and turned to face her.

"I thought that Lance was a threat, and I couldn't trust him. See, he found us right before this group of Rocket grunts were about to kill us, and he was undercover when he did it. But ever since then I thought that-"

"He was leading you into some sort of trap?"

Dawn nodded.

Zoey sighed. "I mean, I get why you think that, but did you really have to _kill _him?"

"Well, maybe not. The way that Brock just left so suddenly made it seem like he wasn't actually on our side, and I just snapped without thinking."

Zoey said nothing, instead turning toward the bedroom window. Dawn expected her to say something, _anything,_ but she didn't.

"Well?" Dawn asked. "Is that it?"

"Are you sorry?" she finally asked.

Dawn had to think about that, because even _she _didn't know. Lance's advice of never being sorry echoed in her mind. "I…I don't know," she finally said. "I mean, he probably didn't deserve to die."

"Probably?" Zoey asked incredulously.

"Yeah, because there's still the off chance that he really wasn't on our side. That's why I'm not sure if I'm sorry or not. Because what if he _was _with the Rockets, and killing him ended up being the right thing?"

"So you're saying that you're not sorry?" Zoey said, raising her eyebrows.

"No," said Dawn, "I'm not. But I'm not_ not _sorry, if that makes sense."

"Not really." Zoey turned back to the window and sighed. "What the hell happened?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean to the world," Zoey explained. "The Empire just came and screwed it all up, tore it to shit. And for what? Just so they can see all of us die and suffer?"

"I don't know, but what's the point of wondering about it anyway?" Dawn sat down on the bed next to Zoey.

"I guess maybe finding out why can somehow make it better…" Zoey trailed off.

"Pretty shitty way of making yourself feel better, if you ask me."

They said nothing after that, the two of them staring out the window in silence. After five minutes, Dawn said, "Sorry I bothered you. I guess I'll just go to bed now." She began to get up when Zoey motioned her back.

"Wait," said Zoey, "there's just one more thing that I wanna say."

"Which is?"

"Do you remember when I won the Ribbon Cup? How happy I was that day? I mean, no offense to you, but-"

"Yes," Dawn said, "Yes, I remember."

Zoey sighed again. "That had to have been the happiest day of my life. And after all of this happened…well, I tried to stay happy like that. Despite everything that happened in the past two weeks, I think I was able to."

Dawn nodded in understanding. "Right, I see what you're saying."

"But hearing that you killed Lance," Zoey continued, "just seemed to drag me down to reality, just made everything seem so real. Hearing that Lance died…well, it made me feel like I could die too. Even after that huge firefight yesterday, even after almost being executed, even after watching my parents get _shot_, it's only now that I believe I can die."

Before Dawn could respond, a thumping sound could be heard from downstairs. They both froze, trying to identify what the sound was.

"I thought you said that we're the only ones in the building," Dawn said tremblingly.

"I did," Zoey muttered. She grabbed for the rifle and started for the door. "I'm gonna check it out."

"Are you crazy?" Dawn hissed. "You have no idea what the hell is down there!"

"We'll find out one way or another at some point, right?"

Dawn gulped and nodded. "You're right, I guess."

Zoey nodded and clicked off the safety. "Stay here. I'll be back in a minute."

She said nothing as Zoey walked out of the room and slowly walked down the stairs. She sat on her bed, wringing her hands in anxiety. It had only been fifteen seconds since she left, but to Dawn it felt like hours.

Supreme silence seemed to linger in the air as if it were a tangible object. Dawn swore that she could feel it on her skin, it was that intense. Zoey didn't sound like she was doing _anything _downstairs, she thought.

The silence became too much for her, so Dawn decided to go after her. She was only halfway down the staircase when she heard the front door being kicked open.

The screaming and the explosion of gunshots that followed spiked fear and adrenaline in her, but she wasn't able to run back upstairs. No, despite the fear she was frozen on the staircase, a dividing wall being the only thing that hid her from whatever was downstairs. "_Shitshitshitshitshit, what the hell's going on here?" _she thought. She might not have been physically shaken, but that didn't stop her from thinking the worst.

The gunfire stopped after a mere second, the silence returning to take its place. Dawn thought about calling out to Zoey, but her conscience quickly shot down that idea.

"Well," said a low voice, "that was rather easy."

Dawn heard a low groan from Zoey. It sounded like she was trying to form a cohesive sentence, but she could hardly get out a single word.

Unable to curb her worry, Dawn peeked behind the dividing wall. There were four Empire Grunts standing over her; a fifth one lay dead by the front door. Zoey lay on the couch, stirring as she struggled to remove a blue protruding object from her neck. Her rifle had skittered across the living room floor and lay a few feet from the bottom of the staircase. Three of the grunts held guns that contained thin, blue rods, the same kind that had found a home in Zoey's neck. "_Those can't be Sleeping Syringes," _she thought, "_those are orange."_ Judging by the effect it seemed to have on Zoey, Dawn didn't want to know _exactly_ what it did.

"You know, I thought it'd be a lot harder to take you down." continued the low voice. You killed all of those people, and yet now we brought you down so quickly."

Zoey gave up trying to pull the blue rod from her neck, the groans and moans growing more detached by the second. She noticed Dawn on the top of the stairs and responded with a subtle look of acknowledgement. Everyone suddenly became aware of the sound of helicopters outside of their building.

Dawn's eyes diverted to Zoey's gun. She weighed her chances of grabbing it before the Grunts could get her. She looked back at Zoey, who knew exactly what Dawn seemed to be planning. "_Don't do it," _her expression seemed to say, "_whatever you do, don't go for that gun."_

All of the Grunts' backs were to Dawn as they began to lift Zoey from the couch. Dawn could feel the adrenaline flowing through her, but that wasn't enough to nerve her down the stairs. "_Either I grab the gun and take my slim chances, or try and make my escape upstairs." _ Dawn thought, her thoughts almost physically twitching out of her head. "_So, basically, it's death or probable death."_

_ "Probable death it is."_

Dawn made her way back up the stairs, slipping on the last step. Her head hitting the hardwood made a thunking sound that was audible even over the choppers. The shouting from the grunts resumed as Dawn fumbled into her bedroom.

She slammed the door behind her and released Togekiss from her Poké Ball. She looked frightened and cowered futilely from the roar of the helicopters outside.

"We have to fly out the window!" Dawn shouted, "It's our only-"

The bedroom door swung open, and Dawn hardly had time to move before she felt the jabbing sting of a blue rod, the same one that hit Zoey, under her left eye. "_It's a needle," _she realized, and she fell to the ground, screaming in pain.

Its effect on her was instantaneous. She felt every nerve and muscle in her face sizzle and burn. Amidst the agonizing pain, she could hardly move her mouth, let alone any other muscle in her head. Even her thoughts were jumbled and slow; "_Needle…burn…face…feeling…nothing…spreading…" _Togekiss used an Air Slash that lifted two of the grunts off of their feet and slammed them into the wall of the hallway.

The sizzling and burning was spreading down her neck and spine; every muscle in her body would sizzle and burn before turning completely numb and practically uncontrollable. She mindlessly tried to claw at the needle that hit her, but her limbs were flailing about like a malfunctioning robot.

Dawn could feel Togekiss trying to lift her, to get her out of the window, but a gunshot brought her down before she could get halfway. Dawn was aware that she just saw her die, but she found herself unable to react; the reality of it couldn't hit her.

Dawn could hear the windows in the living room being smashed in. A pair of Grunts lifted Dawn off of the ground and carried her back downstairs. She saw that they were doing the same to Zoey, a grunt slapping handcuffs on her wrists. Another grunt was carrying Togekiss's limp body.

"Glarghabgabll," Dawn muttered, her throat feeling as if it were stuffed with peanut butter. She was lifted off of her feet as her arms were forcefully brought together. "_Togekiss…" _she thought, "_Zoey…us…captured…found…how..."_

She shot Zoey one last drunken look of apology before they were brought out of the apartment.

* * *

The phone's piercing ring nearly threw the sleeping Jasper off of his desk. He had to catch his immobilized arm from making a hard landing on the ground. He had been released from the hospital a few days ago, right before he had heard that they had found Lance's body. He hardly had time to rejoice, however, for there was work that he had to attend to from being out for so long.

He looked at his clock, unsurprised that it was the middle of the night. He was forced to sleep at his desk to address the people would call him during the night, which pissed him off royally. Even _he _was surprised that he hadn't killed anyone in anger yet, something that he had done a lot back in the Eastern Sector.

Jasper swiped for the phone and put the headset to his ear. "Whuzzit?" he said groggily.

"Jasper, it's Laina." came Laina's voice from the other end.

"Laina, it's the middle of the night. What happened that-"

"We found the girls," she interrupted. "My men from the Secret Ops department found them in a Veilstone apartment building."

"Are you kidding me?" Jasper said in a stupefied voice. He had to grip his desk to keep from falling from his armchair. "Where are they now?"

"Ms. McHale and Ms. Berlitz are being transported via air chopper to Headquarters at this very moment. They should be at Headquarters by six AM. Stabilizing them was a tricky matter, and a Grunt died in the process, but some Sedation Syringes brought them down quick."

Jasper was thinking about the situation for a few seconds. Dawn would likely know more about that damned egg than the redhead would. But that didn't mean that she wouldn't know anything at all…

"Have Berlitz sent up to the Executive Office when they land," he said finally. "I'll take care of her personally. You can leave the other one in the Interrogation Department."

"Sounds good," Laina replied, "but there's one other matter that needs to be addressed.

"And that is?" Jasper yawned.

The Ops department may have found a resistance pack traveling about ten miles outside of Oreburgh. It's the third suspected one we found since yesterday, but this one is way bigger than the others. It might pose an actual threat, for once. They might be headed for Headquarters."

"So what are you waiting for?" Jasper asked angrily. "Get in there and shoot their asses up!"

"Yes sir," Laina said quietly. "I'll just let you-"

Jasper hung up the phone before Laina could finish her sentence. He didn't even bother to feel happy about the girls' capture before he fell asleep.

* * *

_November 27_

It wasn't the explosions that woke Brock up early the next morning. Nor was it the gunfire that followed. It wasn't even the shouting that was mixed in, or the sound of several Pokemon attacks bursting through the air.

It was Blondie's snoring that woke him up, seconds before chaos broke out.

"Blondie, could you keep it down?" Brock said groggily. "It's hardly even morning yet, and I'm still tryna sleep!"

"It's not like I can help it," she mumbled, "don't a lot of-"

_**BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!**_

The sudden explosion made Brock throw his arms over his head. The gunfire that joined them was close to deafening. Thinking became close to impossible, let alone hearing anything else around him.

"STAY HERE!" Brock shouted, "JUST SAY IN THE TREE AND-"

Blondie, completely disregarding Brock's orders, jumped from the tree and completely out of sight. He hardly had time to look down before he saw the flash of her blue hoodie run off.

"_Shit, Blondie," _Brock thought, "_even when we're in the middle of a battlefield you can't follow directions." _He jumped from his branch, but it must have rained the night before, because he slipped on a branch and fell head first for the ground.

Brock stuck his arms out in a panic, hoping that they would break his fall. Not only was his fall broken, but now his right arm was, too. A shooting pain materialized as his arm hit the ground, and Brock shouted in pain as he clutched it compulsively.

"BLONDIE!" He shouted, "WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?"

He saw another glimpse of her, running away toward a group of the gunmen. He would have caterwauled at her again, but there was no point; there would be no chance of him being audible over the gunfire.

Brock hid himself in a bush as he scanned the chaotic scene. In the dim sunlight, Brock saw the gray-clad Rocket gunmen, firing off their automatics as several pokémon, mostly Houndooms and Electrodes, launched attacks into the diminishing night. Wild pokémon were fleeing, some of them wounded or carrying others.

"_But who are they firing at?" _Brock thought. "_Obviously not at me or Blondie, otherwise we'd be dead already."_

It was then that he noticed the _other _group of gunmen, the group that Blondie had run off to. Unlike the Rocket grunts, the other group was a bit more diverse in their apparel; some wore blue jeans and sweaters, others wore khakis and jackets. Some of them even looked like Trainers. A lot of them wore the same blue hoodies that Blondie wore. Their rounds of gunfire fired off at a much faster rate than that of the Rockets; for every gunman that went down, thee Grunts would go down with him.

Nearly every one of the mystery gunmen had a pokémon with them, and they weren't as picky about their selection, as opposed to the Rockets. There was an Arcanine here, a Zangoose there, and Brock could've sworn he saw a few Scizor. Both sides, in addition to the gunfire, launched attacks at each other with their Pokemon. A Flamethrower would melt a pair of Grunts as a Thunderbolt from the Rockets would electrocute the other gunmen.

Brock began to run from the scene, but he felt a jolting sting in his left hip and saw a Grunt, several dozen feet away, aiming his gun at Brock.

Adrenaline surged in Brock as he painfully dived out of his way. He felt another bullet graze his broken arm, causing it to hurt that much more. The grunt began running toward him, but an Arcanine was on top of him in seconds. Brock looked away before the beast could devour the Grunt.

Now being fully incapacitated, Brock dragged himself behind a tree and took out his knife. He struggled to catch his breath, fully aware that he was fairly vulnerable here. "_If any of those guys find me, I won't be able to put up much of a fight," _he thought. He took a tighter hold of his knife, bracing himself for a fight that he would surely lose.

It never happened. A few minutes later, he heard faint cries of "Retreat!" from the Grunts. They all ran in the opposite direction, with a few of the mystery gunmen taking chase. Those who didn't were cheering, slapping each other on the back and shooting into the air.

Brock noticed Blondie among them, shaking hands with a man that was much older than her. There was a new stain of blood running down her leg, and her normally straight hair was frizzled in a few places, but otherwise she looked unhurt.

He looked down at his wounds. Blood spewed from his hip and trickled from his arm. The sight of the stark lacerations nearly made Brock faint from shock. "BLONDIE!" he shouted frantically, "BLONDIE!"

Brock looked back up to see that Blondie was running toward him. She had ditched her rifle for a first aid kit that had magically appeared form thin air. "_She heard me?" _thought Brock. "_I'm surprised neither of us went deaf after what just happened."_

"Brock, you oka-"she began, but her eyes widened when she saw Brock's wounds. "SOMEONE GET ME A MEDIC!" She turned back to Brock. "Don't worry, we can patch that up, just let me-"

"Blondie, what the fuck is going on?"

Three men, all of them dressed in jeans and matching blue hoodies, ran up to them. The smallest one, who looked to be Blondie's age, pointed his automatic at Brock's head.

"Woah!" Brock shouted, "what's with the-"

"State your name and region of origin." The man said coolly.

"Alright, fine!" Brock said, "Just put down the-"

"State your name and region of origin." He repeated, keeping his gun raised.

Brock breathed in exasperation. "My name is Brock Harrison. I'm from Kanto."

He immediately lowered his gun and ran back to the others. Brock shouted at him, but he didn't break his stride. Meanwhile, the other men had started stitching up Brock's wounds, making him gasp from the unexpected pain.

"Sorry," one of them mumbled, "we gotta get this fixed up before you bleed out."

"WOULD YOU AT LEAST TELL ME WHAT IN SHIT'S NAME IS GOING ON? WHO ARE YOU PEOPLE?" Brock shouted.

It was Blondie that spoke up. "I wanted to tell you yesterday, but I couldn't-"

"TELL ME WHAT?!"

She sighed. "Brock, we're the G-Men. We've been looking for you and your friends for days."

* * *

**Usual post-chapter banter aside, I have some bad news: this story is officially on hiatus.**

**It's not for too long; a little more than three weeks or so. I'm gonna start working on a one-shot, and by the time I'm done with that I'll be studying for finals. It kills me to put it off for so long, but it has to be done.**

**Nevertheless, reviews are much appreciated, and thanks for reading!**


	22. Chapter 22

_November 26_

"…"

"…"

"…eunngghh…"

_She lifted her head wearily. Everything was blurry, but she knew that this was no dream. The pain was still present, the trauma of it all still imprinted on her mind. There was a dull ache on her bottom that originated from the rough mesh seat that she sat on. The loud drone of the chopper blades blasted against her ear drums. _

_Two grunts sat on either end of her, their hands tightly grasping her underarms. They both stared straight ahead, phlegmatic and unmoving. Across from her were two more grunts, both of whom were holding what looked to be Zoey. _

"…_Zoey…" _she thought. "_…Togekiss…mine…dead…loud…caught…ow…"_

_That was all of the thought she could muster before she blacked out._

* * *

_November 27_

Brock stared unknowingly at the forest turned battlefield, just barely visible under the rising sun. Dead bodies, grunts and G-Men alike, were strewn all over, lying limp and lifeless. The wounded were drifting about aimlessly; a few were helping to clear out the dead, but not many. He took in the sights, but couldn't digest them for what they were.

His good arm was lightly cradling the broken one, which was still secreting blood from the gunshot wound. There were two puddles of it; one under his arm, and one by his stomach. He winced as Blondie was patching up his wound.

"I don't think we'll be able to get those bullets out," she said, "but once we get back to base we might be able to. Same goes for your broken arm; there's not much we can do about it now."

Brock turned to Blondie. "You're not from Hoenn, are you?"

"I'm sorry?"

"Well, since you didn't tell me about who you actually were, I'm left to assume that a lot of what you said wasn't true."

Blondie bit her lip. "Not a lot of it was, no. But some of it was truthful."

"Start from the beginning, then. What was true, and what wasn't?"

She set her roll of bandages down and sat beside Brock. "First off, I _am_ from Hoenn. I transferred to the G-Men's Sinnoh Division shortly before the Hoenn invasion. I _was _in Jubilife when it happened. But the truth stops there. There was no boyfriend that was killed by shrapnel, and that whole conversation about death was a load of shit."

"So that means that you actually did know about Lance?" Brock cried. "You were lying about _him_, too?"

"Yeah, and it pained me to act like I didn't know him, but I had to make it sound like I knew almost nothing about the G-Men."

"But why?" Brock asked.

She sighed. "In case something happened on the way, you wouldn't be able to say that you knew about us."

Brock turned again to the battlefield. "So the Empire knows about you guys, then?"

"Yes," Blondie said, "and that's the only reason why they had kidnapped me the night before last. They knew that I was with the G-Men. I mean, they're still keeping their victims alive to extract the truth from them, but they do all of that at their Headquarters."

Brock tried to readjust himself against the tree, but a sharp pain that shot through his hip kept him down.

"Dammit, Brock, stay down! I'm not done yet patching these up."

"What's the point, Blondie? Wrapping them up with a bandage or something will only-"

She held her hand up to silence Brock. "We can quit with this Blondie crap. We're safe now, so there's no need to hide my name. I'm Kieran Galloway."

"But how do you know that we're safe, Bl- Kieran?"

"Because," Kieran said as she stood up, "you're in the G-Men's custody now. This whole time, we've been trying to find you just to keep you safe, to keep you from dying at the hands of the Rockets. And that's what we plan on doing."

Brock sighed and turned once more to Kieran. "So what now?" He asked. "If I'm safe with you guys, then what's gonna happen from here?"

"I'm sure that whoever's in charge of this squad here will want to speak to you. Sanus, I think his name is. The head of the Sinnoh division of the G-Men is in Oreburgh. That's where our main base is, and it's where we're headed. After that, I'm not sure. It depends on what you end up doing."

_"What I end up doing? What does she mean by that?" _Brock thought. She didn't ask her, though, instead going back to gazing mindlessly at the bloodbath.

* * *

By the time Dawn was fully aware of her surroundings, she was no longer on the cold, mesh seat in the helicopter, but in a smooth, velvety armchair. Her handcuffed arms had been brought in front of her, but they were the only thing restraining her.

"_Togekiss is dead…" _she thought. The fact that she was fully conscious and self-aware didn't faze her as rage started to build up inside of her. "_Wait…where's Zoey? I didn't see her leave… maybe_ _ they wasted her, like they did Togekiss, or like they'll do with me!" _ The hate turned to panic, and she could feel her heart beating out of her chest.

"But you're not dead," she said under her breath, "they haven't killed you. That's something."

In front of her was an empty mahogany desk, with papers cluttered over and below it. The only other thing that was remarkable about it was the golden nameplate that was emblazoned in dark lettering:

**Jasper Malloy**

** Executive Head (Eastern Sector), Acting Supervisor (Northern Sector)**

"_Jasper," _she thought. It took her a moment to place the name to the man, the one that almost killed Ash, the one that she had hit with the axe… and now, apparently, the head of the entire Empire.

"_I'm in this guy's office. The same guy that's causing the entire world to go to shit, the same guy that almost killed us… oh shit, this guy's probably gonna kill me, or torture me until…"_

It took all of her strength not to scream in fright. She swallowed and clenched her fists, not knowing how else she should quell her fear. Even after taking a deep breath, she still whimpered frightfully.

Behind the desk was a window that covered a large portion of the wall. In the corner by the window was a Scyther, who slept with his arms under his chin. Dawn looked away at the sight of his razor sharp blades, which looked like they could easily chop and dice her up as they pleased.

"That's not mine," said a voice from behind her.

Dawn jumped out of her seat as she turned to see Jasper, standing at the door. His platinum hair had grown shaggier since she had seen him last; it seemed to droop over his eyes, but Jasper hardly seemed to care. Under his eyes were bags the size of grapes that brought his eyelids down to a depressed droop. His right arm was in a bloodstained sling, which stood out from his otherwise clean Rocket jumpsuit.

"I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to sit down," Jasper said with a yawn, "there's much to discuss."

"_He isn't whipping out a gun? Or going on some otherwise murderous rampage?" _ Dawn thought. She sat down, unsure of what to expect from him. There was a certain affinity to him, she noted, one that made you feel synthetically calm, even if he did want to kill you.

"The Scyther isn't mine," Jasper repeated as he sat down at his desk, "all I did was take it off of some poor old kid. Travis or Tracey or Trevor was his name. Really, I couldn't give a shit if I tried."

"But if you k-killed him to get it…" Dawn said, struggling to keep the fear and anxiety from her voice.

"Why would you assume that we killed him?" said Jasper.

"_Why is he so calm?" _Dawn thought. "_He should be torturing me for that damn egg, not acting as if I'm some business partner!"_

"It's true that we killed people," said Jasper, "but killing isn't always the answer."

"Tell that to all of those people who died in the invasion! Or to my Cyndaquil, or Togekiss!" Dawn said.

Jasper smirked and started tapping a pencil on his desk. "Sometimes, people need to die to get what you want. But to get what I want now, no one needs to die. If you can cooperate with us, then you won't die. Simple as that."

'Bullshit!" Dawn spat as she stood up. "How do I know that you won't kill me once you're done?"

"Like you killed Lance?" Jasper raised his eyebrows quizzically at Dawn.

Dawn retreated back into her chair, partly out of fear and partly out of shame. "How do you know about that?" she quavered.

Jasper chuckled lowly. "Let's get something straight. I know everything. Nothing can get past me." He pointed his pencil at her. "But what I _don't _know is how you and your friends managed to kill more than a dozen grunts in just two weeks. Do you really want to defend that egg so much?"

Dawn looked down sheepishly. "I think that the will to live made a difference, too."

"But to want to live, Dawn, you have to want to live for something. What is it that you live for?"

Dawn said nothing, wringing her hands together as she struggled to come up with a truthful response. She fingered the cold metal of the handcuffs, Jasper chuckling at her silence. He pulled from his desk a carton of cigarettes and ignited one.

"Why handcuffs?" Dawn asked suddenly.

Jasper raised his eyebrows as he took a drag. "Handcuffs?"

"Handcuffs," Dawn repeated. "Last time we met your men used rope to bind my wrists. But now it's handcuffs. Why the change?"

Jasper exhaled a cloud of smoke and leaned back in his chair. "Handcuffs are a sign of power, of formality. Rope only brings out barbarity in people. Barbarians don't use handcuffs. Governments do. We're not out to be barbarians, Dawn, really, we're-"

"DO GOVERNMENTS KILL AND TORTURE FOR NO REASON?! DO GOVERNMENTS SPEND WEEKS HUNTING A GROUP OF TEENAGERS FOR A DUMB OLD EGG?!" She stood out of her chair and advanced toward Jasper's desk. "DO GOVERNMENTS DESTROY A WHOLE REGION JUST SO THEY CAN HAVE POWER? BECAUSE IF YOU ASK ME, THAT'S COMING ACROSS AS PRETTY FUCKING BARBARIC!"

Jasper stared her down with gray, unfazed eyes. "Feisty, are we?" he said, pursing his lips. The Scyther rose slowly from his nap. "There's a lot of thing I don't like, Dawn. Clams, for one. I also don't like having to spend weeks on something that can be done in a matter of hours." He subtly pointed toward the wall.

Before Dawn could turn around, there was a shooting pain in her shoulder. She fell to the ground as she clawed at what she knew was a needle injection. Pulling the needle out, she gasped at the drops of blue liquid that were left in there. She could already feel the Sedation Syringe working through her body, the numbing, burning sensation sizzling down her neck and up her face.

Jasper walked menacingly toward her, an evil smirk on his face. "But if there's one thing that I hate the most," he drawled, "it's feistiness."

Dawn hardly had time to react to Jasper's violent kick before she faded.

* * *

"Brock?"

Brock turned to see a man in his late thirties, donning the same blue hoodie and khaki pants as Blondie, towering over him. A long, virginal scar vandalized his forehead, but he hardly looked as if he cared. In fact, he was grinning cockily, as if the battle was a three ring circus.

"I'll leave you two to talk," said Kieran. She got up and walked away, but to where Brock didn't see.

"My name is Sanus Trine," he said, offering his hand. "I'm the commander of Charlie squad, and fourth in command of the G-Men in Sinnoh." He spoke with a Southern drawl, almost as if he hailed from Solaceon, or some other ranch town.

Brock didn't grab for Sanus' hand, instead gesturing toward his broken arm. Sanus nodded in understanding as he knelt so that he was eye level with Brock.

"Ah, that's something we can patch up right quick." Sanus' grin widened.

"Wait, but Blon- I mean, Kieran said that we'd have to wait until we got to Oreburgh."

Sanus laughed a booming laugh, one that was all too reminiscent of the artillery and massacre from earlier. Brock cowered at the sound of it, but Sanus didn't notice.

"Well, Kieran should know that a simple combination of Pokemon moves will do the trick." Sanus said. "Spore, maybe a mild Shock Wave, and String Shot will do the trick for that arm." He laughed again. "I'm sorry about her. She can be a bit hard-headed at times. Dense, even. I trust that you know that?"

Brock grinned. "All too well. Listen, I'm not sure if you heard, but Lance, he-"

"Died. Yeah, we know. Two mornings ago."

Brock looked at him with wide, gaping eyes. "Wait, how do you know that-"

"Did you really think that we wouldn't be keeping tabs on him?"

Brock gasped in understanding. "Wait, this whole time, you were _tracking _him?"

"Not quite," said Sanus coyly, "but you know how he told you that the Rocket Empire was using microphones on their person?"

Brock frowned before he realized what he had meant. "Wait, so this whole time, you _knew _that we were travelling with him?"

Sanus grinned that same cocky grin. "Shocked? Not only that, but he was doing the same thing that Kieran was. If the Rockets hadn't killed him, you guys probably would've found us that night. The entire time, he was getting you to safety, but couldn't tell you. It was sad to hear that he had gone, though…"

"Son of a bitch!" Brock breathed. A Parasect skittered up to Sanus and tapped him on the leg. He looked down and beamed at the sight of the pokémon.

"Ah, now we can work with your arm, Brock. Would you mind holding it out for her?"

Brock did as he was told. The Parasect began to coat his arm with miniscule Spore balls. Brock immediately lost all feeling in his arm, the Spore balls acting as a numbing agent.

"While he's doing that," Sanus said, "there is something that I would like to discuss with you." He sat down beside Brock against the tree. Brock looked over to see that Parasect was wrapping his arm methodically with silk.

"Brock, I'm not gonna sugarcoat this," Sanus said, "but we're fighting a losing battle. We might have pushed the Grunts back just now, but we lost too many men in the process. Only two of the G-Men squads in Sinnoh lived past the invasion, and we're the only mobile one."

"Don't tell me that you're going where I think you're going…" Brock moaned.

"Hear me out, will ya?" Sanus opened his Pokétch and began toying with it. "For the past year, ever since it all began in Kanto, the G-Men have been keeping on the defensive. None of us in Sinnoh knew about the invasions, and the operatives in the other regions couldn't warn the others. So, naturally, we couldn't prepare for any kind of counter attack."

The Parasect knotted off the silk that wove from Brock's shoulder to his wrist.

"But we're trying to change that, though. We've had operatives undercover in the Empire for a week now, and they've been getting us insider information. Information that we can use to our advantage in an attack."

"An attack on the Empire?"

"Right," Sanus said, "an attack on their Headquarters, in Jubilife. It could be a few weeks before we can formulate a solid plan, though, and we need a hell of a lot more men to do it."

Brock frowned. "So you're asking me to join the G-Men?"

Sanus nodded. "There are a few things, though, that we'll need to do. Gauging what each of your Pokemon can do in battle, for one. From what we've heard, Lance didn't give you much training, so we'll-"

"But what if I don't wanna do it?"

Sanus' grin was wiped clean, and he stood there, giving Brock a disappointed stare. "Somehow, I thought you might say that."

There was a sudden tightening on Brock's makeshift cast, and he turned to see that the Parasect was sucking the nutrients from the silk. This tightened the cast and turned it from the soft, mushy silk into a coarse thread.

"I just don't think that I can bring myself to do it," Brock said, "to kill any of them. I'm not a fighter, really, I'm not."

Sanus sighed and turned to the battlefield. "Why do we use guns?"

Brock frowned again. "What?"

"I said why do we use guns? There are a slew of pokémon that can do a hell of a lot more damage than any gun could. So why do we use guns _and _pokémon?"

Brock shrugged.

"Because you have to convince a pokémon that they're killing for the right reasons, that it's okay for them to kill. But a gun just does whatever you make it do. Pokemon aren't like that."

Brock said nothing as he and Sanus gazed at the purge.

"I guess what I'm trying to do here is convince _you _that it's okay to kill."

"Why do we have to kill, though?" Brock suddenly snapped. "Sure, I'm scared, and I'm hurt, but is it really enough to kill?"

"Yes, it is," Sanus said. "Because that's what drives us, and that's what drives you. Because when you're hurt and scared for the wrong reasons, that pain and fear turns to hatred, and that hatred is what can change everything. You're keeping that hate bottled up in you, and you're not doing anything about it."

"_He does have a point…" _Brock thought.

"They're the ones hurting you, and scaring you," Sanus continued, "and you need to recognize that it's okay now to kill. It's hard, but they're the ones who are killing you, maybe not with a gun but with fear. They're-"

"I'll do it."

Sanus instantaneously beamed in delight. "Really?"

"Yes. If it means that much to you, I'll do it. It _is _for the greater good, after all. I figure that I'm gonna die out here sooner or later. It may as well be sooner. If I'm dying for the greater good, I'll die fighting for it."

"Great!" Sanus exclaimed, his expression showing that he was pleased as punch. "I knew you had it in ya! Now, just let those Spore balls work into your system, mmkay?"

"Sure, but – what?!"

Before Brock knew it, he felt the Spore puffs litter his body, making him drowsy and limp.

"Don't worry, Brock," Sanus said, his voice sounding distant and echoed, "this is just so we can work on the rest of your injuries. We can't do it without putting you to sleep, else the pain would be too much."

Brock couldn't respond before he fell asleep.

* * *

Dawn woke again with a dull ache from her seat, but this time it was all over her body. She tried to tend to it, but her arms were held in place behind her with cold, metal braces. Worse was that some sort of head brace kept her head fixated toward the ceiling, unable to move an inch.

Struggling wasn't an option for her; she was only barely conscious, and even then the braces were tougher than titanium. She was utterly helpless.

It only took a split second for the panic, the fear, the anxiety to kick in. Amidst her haze, she attempted to break from the bonds, but it was in naught; after seconds of weak resistance, she felt exhausted to the point of collapse.

Light poured in from the side; Dawn realized that she was still in his office. How long she had been out, she didn't know. Few hours, maybe.

Then came the shadow that painted itself over the ceiling. She shook and trembled even more now, anything that might get her out. But the two of them knew that there was no escaping what was to come.

"I'll give you just one chance to spill it before I'm forced to hurt you," Jasper said. From the corner of her eye, she could see his silhouette, looming by the edge of the adorned wall. "And believe me when I say that I don't want to do that."

"Please!" Dawn sobbed, "I'd tell you, but I honestly don't know where it is! The day we-"

She was cut short by a prick in her neck, gasping in shock at what she knew had to be something terrifying.

"Tut tut," he said, "not quite what I wanted to hear." He moved behind her as her trembling and struggling intensified exponentially. "No matter. I'm sure that in a few hours you might be more…willing, let's say, to gratify me."

Pain. Sudden, blistering, agonizing pain that she couldn't even describe suddenly flooded her already worn body. Hearing and seeing and comprehending ceased; all she could hear and see and feel was the inexplicable pain that was internally beating her. She screamed and tried to flail about, but her restraints held fast. The tears of pain were quick to produce themselves, but they remained welled in her eyes, still pointed toward the ceiling.

"I think I'll check up on you in a few hours," he said, his voice brimming with evil excitement. "We'll see then if you'll indulge us."

She was beyond hearing him, but even if she wasn't, he wouldn't have listened to her pleas for mercy. Jasper walked out of his own office with a grin of satisfaction, leaving Dawn to drown in the pain that pulled her under to the point of no return.

* * *

**I'm back, guys! After spending weeks studying for finals, I'm finally off of hiatus! **

**First off, my first one-shot, "It's My Choice", is up! I wrote it and uploaded it before the hiatus, so if you haven't already, check it out! I'm rather happy that it came out so well, and I think that you'll like it, too!**

**As usual, reviews are always appreciated. I'd like to thank anyone who has favorited, followed, or reviewed Vengeance. You guys are what keep this story alive, and I'm thankful for that.**

**Thanks for reading!**


	23. Chapter 23

_November 27_

Ash awoke in a feverish sweat and looked up to see that, besides the fact that he fell asleep with his clothes on, he had buried himself in the covers. He threw them to the side and rose, stepping on Pikachu's tail in the process. The pokémon scurried from under his foot as Ash stretched his arms.

The light shone in brightly from the small window on the opposite wall. Ash squinted as he checked his watch. 10:32 AM.

"Late morning," Ash mumbled. "We didn't even go to bed that late, Pikachu."

"Cha..." he responded in agreement.

"How late was it, even? Seven, eight at the latest, I think." Ash walked out of the bedroom and into the kitchen with a slight limp. His leg still felt sore and weak, but he'd manage when it came to walking. "I'll make us some breakfast," he called.

Pikachu followed behind Ash as he walked into the kitchen. Ash opened the fridge, only to remember that there wasn't any edible food left. All that was there were the spoiled celery and the empty ice cream carton.

Ash sighed. "I think I still have some food left in my pack," he said, "but we'll definitely have to go hunting soon. Whatever Stantler we have might've gone bad by now."

Pikachu responded in agreement as Ash sat down at the table. He rolled his pant leg up to get another look as his infection. Surprisingly, there was no trace now of the cellulitis that had plagued him, no trace of blood on his wounds. He poked at them with his finger. Some mild pain, but nothing a painkiller couldn't fix.

He pulled his pant leg back down and looked at Pikachu. "I think we'll get going tonight," he said. "We gotta try to find Dawn, and those G-Men as well. My leg's healed enough to where I can walk without too much trouble. Besides, I think we've overstayed our welcome."

Pikachu ran to Ash's pack, which was on the couch, and pulled out Dragonite's Poké Ball.

"That's not a shabby idea, but we can't fly without being seen," Ash said. 'Unless…unless we flew at night!" Ash beamed at his own ingenuity as Pikachu handed him the Poké Ball. He released Dragonite in a burst of light as the dragon pokémon materialized, taking up a majority of the space in the living room. Pikachu would've been crushed by his tail had he not moved away at the last second.

"Dragonite, when was the last time you've done any flying with Lance?" Ash asked.

He held up three fingers, nearly knocking over the lamp in the process.

"Three…weeks?" Ash guessed.

Dragonite shook his head. "Draa-ny," he replied.

"Months!?"

He grimly nodded. Ash and Pikachu exchanged sour looks.

"Do you think you can get back in the swing of it?" Ash asked. To be honest, he wasn't sure if he wanted to know. How long _would _it take him?

Dragonite grinned eagerly and responded with a confident "Draaa-_gon!_"

"Awesome," Ash replied. "We'll try it out tonight. That way, we'll have the darkness on our side."

He reached for Dragonite's Poké Ball, but there was a sudden ringing in his ears that he couldn't quite identify. It sounded foreign and unfamiliar. Artificial, even. He lightly hit himself in the head to qualm the noise, but it persisted.

Pikachu looked at Ash with confusion. "Pikaa Pi?"

"Yeah, I hear it too." Ash said. He looked toward the kitchen and gaped, having realized where the ringing was coming from.

It was the telephone.

"_Who would call here, though?_" Ash thought. "_This house has been abandoned for weeks!_

"I'm not gonna pick it up," he told himself. "I'll just let it ring until they hang up. It's probably just another solicitor or something." The three of them laughed nervously. Ash took a seat on the couch, sitting patiently as each ring of the phone hit him like a club to the head.

Fifteen rings came and went. "_Can't they just hang the damn thing up already?"_ Ash looked at Pikachu, who was nervously fidgeting with the armrest. Dragonite looked equally worried. "_But what if someone knows I'm here, and they're just trying to weed me out?_"

"To hell with it," Ash said after the twentieth ring. He strode toward the phone and, after taking a breath, picked up the receiver. He put it to his ear, but said nothing, hardly daring to even breathe.

"…Ash?" a voice whispered. The voice sounded feminine and full of fear, and Ash immediately recognized it for who it was.

"Mrs. Berlitz? Mrs. Berlitz, what's going-"

A loud popping sound cut him off, and a shrill scream burst through the speaker before the line went dead. Ash dropped the phone in shock, leaving it to dangle from its cord. "_Did Mrs. Berlitz just…die?!"_

He wouldn't be able to answer his own question, however, for the rushing sensation of the Aura had suddenly overtaken him once more, and he fell completely fell to the floor. "_Great," _Ash thought, "_here we go again…"_

Dawn was there, in his first vision. It was blurry, but Ash could clearly see that it was her. She was sitting in a chair, screaming her head off. Her head was directed to the ceiling by some kind of metal device, her limbs pinned to the chair by bulky, steel braces.

The room she was in was lavish; velvet curtains accompanied a mammoth window that was adjacent to a wooden desk. No one else was in the room but Dawn, alone and scared and hurt…

The scene suddenly flew out the window to reveal a city skyline. It had shrunk, but Ash could still see the large window of the room that Dawn was in. But it was what was above the window that got Ash. Above the window was a blood red **R **the size of a billboard.

"_Shit," _Ash thought in terror, "_they captured her. And now they're torturing her…oh shit…"_

Before he could lament, the focus switched to a different city, one that Ash couldn't identify. A trio of helicopters landed on top of a building. There was a cluster of grunts that stood on the edge, waiting for them to stop completely.

All at once, the grunts filed one by one into the choppers, filling them completely. At the end of one of the lines was the long, brown hair that had belonged to…who? She looked familiar, Ash thought, but he couldn't tell who it was just from the back of her head.

Each grunt equipped themselves with some kind of weapon when they entered the helicopter. A semi-automatic here, one of those Syringe guns there. When they were all loaded in, the choppers simultaneously took off, flying toward not another city, but a lush, dense forest.

And then Ash was back on the floor of the cabin, in the fetal position. There was a throbbing in his head. "_Did I hit the counter?"_ Ash thought. "_Must have…"_

He shook it off as he stood up and started for his pack. "Change of plans, Dragonite. We're leaving now. I won't have you start flying until tonight, but we gotta get out of here."

Dragonite looked perplexed, but Ash didn't explain himself. There was no time for explaining anything, Ash thought. That'd have to wait for later. Pikachu grabbed for the grunt's pack and handed it to Ash. Ash opened it up and dumped all of its contents into his own bag.

"I'm keeping all of this stuff on me," Ash said. "I might need it later, and I can't risk storing it in the Poké Ball if I do."

Ash was going to say something else, but before he could a dull whirring sound could be heard from above. The two pokémon looked at Ash frightfully, but Ash said nothing as he went to look out the window above the stove.

The same choppers that Ash saw in his vision were making a steady descent beside the house. He saw the grunts, and the grunts saw him. Ash ran from the window just as they opened fire.

The bullets struck the stove, causing it to explode just as Ash dived out of the kitchen. He looked up to see a gaping hole in the ceiling, one just large enough for someone, or something, to get through…

"Dragonite," he gasped, "return!" Ash threw Dragonite's Poké Ball at him, but the pokémon swatted it away with a backhand swing. The Poké Ball hit the wall and shattered to pieces. Pikachu ran into Ash's arms and cowered in his chest as Ash hid under an end table. Dragonite gave him a look of apology before charging up a Hyper Beam. He unleashed it toward the hole in the ceiling, but not before a bullet tore through his shoulder.

"DRAGONITE!"

"PIKA-PII!"

The Hyper Beam tore a gaping hole through the roof, and miraculously clipped one of the helicopters. The chopper swirled through the air before crash landing just outside of the house and going up in flames, killing anyone that might have been inside.

The dragon pokémon took cover beside the couch, clutching at his new wound. Another explosion could be heard, probably from the bedroom. Dragonite winced and, standing up, unleashed another Hyper Beam toward the sky. Nearly half of the ceiling above them was decimated as a result, as well as the second helicopter. This time, however, the chopper was directly hit, exploding in midair.

"Dragonite, you need to hide!" Ash screamed. "Don't try and play the hero!"

Dragonite shook his head, making it obvious that playing the hero was exactly what he had in mind. He scooped up Ash and Pikachu and, clutching them to his chest, made a mad dash for the outside.

As soon as Ash left the house, or what was left of the house, the sounds of the gunfire and the lone chopper were greatly magnified. Ash tried to cover his ears, but he couldn't wiggle his arms under from Dragonite's grip. They were half-floating, half-flying into the frondescence of the forest, the chopper following them overhead.

Dragonite stopped suddenly and set Ash and Pikachu aside, taking a bullet to the leg in the process. Ash tried to grab for Dragonite's arm, to lead him away, but before he could the pokémon was already back in the air, launching another Hyper Beam at the last helicopter. It wasn't a direct hit, but the beam managed to hit the rotor, rendering it completely useless as it spun to the ground.

Ash heard the chopper make impact with the earth, but there was no explosion. "_Good,"_ Ash thought, "_less people dead. But that's a bad thing, too…"_

"Pikachu, you okay?" Ash asked weakly.

Pikachu looked at him and managed a grin. "Cha…" he said. Ash searched him for any bullet wounds, and sighed in relief when he found none. Dragonite landed next to Ash, still standing despite his leg and shoulder.

"Dragonite, you've got some serious balls to pull some shit like that," Ash said. He tried his best to sound reprimanding, but gave it up when he saw Dragonite's smug look of pride. "Lance would've been proud of you."

"Draaaa-_dra gon,"_ he replied, which Ash took to mean, "Don't mention it." His smug look turned to a sincere one, one that took Ash's words to heart.

"Alright, let's quickly get these bullets out and get the hell out of here." Ash called out Magnezone and ordered him to use Gravity, much like he had last night. Dragonite winced slightly when the bullets were forced from his body, but it was nothing near the reaction that Ash had.

"Good job, Magnezone," Ash said. "Dragonite, do you think I can wait on wrapping those up? We gotta get outta here before they find us again. I don't know if anyone survived all of that, but we can't risk going back to find out."

Dragonite took a quick look at his wounds and nodded.

"Great," Ash said, "just try and keep yourself from bleeding out. I'm switching out Magnezone's Poké Ball with yours, so you can get some rest." He called Dragonite back with Magnezone's Poké Ball. With Pikachu in hand and Magnezone at his side, he broke into a run away from the cabin's ruins, Dawn being the only thing on his mind. No G-Men, no Rocket Grunts, no fear. Just Dawn.

* * *

Brock woke with a start, making him fall off of the stretcher he was on. "_Wait a minute," _he thought, "_where did the stretcher come from?"_

"Alright there, laddie?"

He turned to see Sanus standing over him, offering him a hand back on his feet. Brock took it and stood up, his balance awkwardly shifted to his wounded side.

"I'd watch out for your side and arm, Brock," Sanus said. "They might be patched up, but walking will be a chore for a while. That ear looked pretty bad, too, so we fixed that up as well."

"Great, "Brock muttered, fingering his ear to see that his ear was stitched up. He noticed that they were no longer by the battlefield, but in a new area of the forest, one that was sparse with wildlife. It was more of a prairie than a forest, really. The sunlight was intense, but Brock couldn't help but feel a bit chilly, even with his jacket.

There were a few other G-Men that lay on stretchers, each of them being carried by two others. The pack was moving, Brock noticed, and he remembered Sanus' point about them being the only mobile unit in the region.

"Where we heading?"

"Oreburgh," Sanus answered. "That's where our base is at. From there, we'll get some training in with Leon."

"Leon?" Brock said.

"One of the head agents in the Recruitment department. He'll teach you how to fight. But besides that, we'll try and track down Ash and the others. It's probable that they still have the egg, and that's our main goal, besides bringing down the Empire.

Brock gave Sanus an astounded look, and Sanus responded with another booming chuckle. "Yes, Brock, we know about the egg, too."

"Somehow I knew that you did, but still…" Brock sighed as he ambled along beside Sanus, kicking up a small cloud of dirt in the process with his limp. "How far away are we from Oreburgh?"

"I'd say another ten miles or so. We'll probably get there sometime late tonight. Not too long after midnight, I think."

"Are we really just gonna walk into the city and not expect to get mowed down by those Grunts?"

"Of course not, Brock, don't you think we would've planned that out by now?" Sanus slapped Brock on the back playfully. "Our base isn't even in the city. It's in the mines, actually. Besides that, we're not all just gonna go in at once. We'll enter in pairs, two at a time."

"And who am I gonna be paired up with, exactly?"

"I was thinking I'd send you in with Kieran."

* * *

It was mid-afternoon by the time Dawn's introverted pain had finally calmed itself. She was left in the chair, tears and sweat staining her face. There was no one in the room; Jasper hadn't returned since he had first left.

She took time to recollect herself, before the next phase of torture began. "_Alright," _she thought, "_that really hurt. But you're doing alright, Dawn. You might be really hurting soon, but for now…"_

She took a handful of deep breaths and closed her eyes. Her head was starting to ache, since it had been fixated toward the ceiling for so long. And was that… was that smoke? She didn't think much of it, instead deciding to brace herself for whatever was about to happen.

But the smell of smoke never faded. If anything, it only grew more prominent with each passing second. Dawn shook in her chair, knowing full well that it wouldn't do anything.

Suddenly, her scalp felt like it was on fire. No, it _was _on fire, she realized. Any composure that she mustered in the past few minutes vanished. She writhed about in her chair, or tried to at least. The heat of her scalp only seemed to be growing the more that she resisted. The tears were flowing again, almost as if they had never gone away.

Then the fire was extinguished, but the burning was still there. It was more of a scald, though, than a burn. The boiling water that hit her seemed to sizzle on Dawn's skin, and she could feel the burn marks protrude from her face and neck.

"This might sound cliché," Jasper's voice said, "but this really is hurting me more than it hurts you. I shouldn't have to hurt you like this, Dawn. It should be easy to just get you to say where the egg is and make everything that much easier." He tossed the pot aside, landing with a thud on the carpeted floor.

Dawn continued sobbing. "Please, J-J-Jasper, I-I-I don't know! Ash had it the day we were separated, and he p-probably still has it! That's all I know, I swear!"

She could see Jasper bang his fist on the wall, causing a picture frame to fall off in the process. Dawn shivered in fright, more so when she heard another Grunt enter the room.

"Sir," the Grunt said, "Laina's on the line for you."

"Gimme that," Jasper mumbled. "What is it, Laina, I…you WHAT?!"

* * *

The helicopter hit the ground nose first before toppling over, throwing Laina against the bloodstained window. A few guns went off in the cabin, and she could hear a bullet ricochet off of the wall, mere inches from her head.

Then everything was silent; there was no shouting, no shuffling around, no breathing. "Guys?" she moaned weakly. There was no response.

Without looking back, Laina crawled from the helicopter and onto the rocky ground. She propped herself up against a tree and took in the scene. The chopper lay on its side, the dead grunts just visible from inside. Laina looked to her right; there were specks of orange and black in the distance. One of them looked humanoid, almost as if it looked like…

"_Ash…"_ she thought. She stood up and broke out in a sprint toward them, but that didn't last long. A throbbing in her abdomen would only keep her mobile for a few seconds at a time. She sat down again, this time beside a tree that was halved by the impact.

Breathing heavily, she looked back toward what she thought was Ash, but he and the…was it a Dragonite? Whatever it was, they were gone. Laina cursed under her breath and sighed, fingering her long strands of brown hair. "_I'm dead…" _she thought. "_Jasper is SO gonna kill me for this…fourteen grunts dead, under MY watch…and all because of that stupid kid…"_

She dug in her pocket for her phone and dialed Jasper's number. The dial tones hadn't even played before she started to mentally brace herself for Jasper's hell storm.

"Yes?" A grunt answered.

"Jasper…" Laina huffed, "get him…now…"

The Grunt said nothing as he put the call on hold, leaving Laina to get ready for his tirade.

"What is it, Laina, I-"Jasper answered.

"I found the kid." Laina said. She winced, almost as if Jasper were physically before her, ready to strike.

"You WHAT?!"

"Jasper, please, just listen!" Laina said. She took a deep breath and continued. "He made a phone call last night to Berlitz's mother. We triangulated both of their locations, and ambushed them this morning. Mrs. Berlitz is dead, but Ash, he…"

"Ash WHAT?" Jasper said angrily. Laina could almost feel his anger on her skin.

"He killed the entire squad that we sent out," she replied. "I'm pretty sure that I'm the only one left. He had a Dragonite or something, and he destroyed the choppers."

Jasper was silent, too silent for Laina's comfort. Why was there no explosion of anger, let alone anything at all?

"You there?" Laina asked.

"Go after him." Jasper hissed through clenched teeth. "Whichever direction he went, follow him. Follow him, find him, and kill him."

"Jasper, I'm injured here! How do you expect me to-"

"DO AS I SAY, LAINA, ELSE YOU'LL BOTH END UP DEAD!"

Laina held the phone away from her ear. No need for her to go deaf at a time like this, she thought.

"Yes, sir," she trembled. "Did those girls get to Headquarters alright?"

"Just fine," Jasper returned. "Don't call me again until you have something important." Jasper hung up the phone before Laina could respond, and she shoved her phone back in her pocket.

Laina stood back up again, the pain in her abdomen being less pronounced. She only now realized how cold it was, and she cursed herself for not having brought a jacket. "_But it's not like I knew I'd have to play Hide and Seek with this kid," _she thought.

She started walking in the direction that he had gone, breaking into a slow jog once she decided her abdomen could take it. "Ready or not," she said under her breath, "here I come."

* * *

Jasper threw the phone at the Grunt, hitting him on the head as he bolted from the room. Dawn was shaking so hard, Jasper couldn't tell whether she was scared or just having a seizure. But what did he care?

"Let that serve as a lesson," Jasper said to her. "You don't cross me and expect to get away with it."

She started crying again, tears welling on her face. The blotches on her face became more prominent, ruining her otherwise sublime appearance.

"Now," he said, "I'll give you one more chance to talk before we get back to business. I know that you know, Dawn. You can't hide it from me."

Dawn's head was still locked in the vice, but she still managed an expression that was colder than Snowpoint . "I don't know anything," she whispered. "You'll kill me before I'm able to come clean."

Jasper grunted in frustration. He reached for the Succubus Syringe on his desk and jabbed it into her neck. She gasped slightly, but didn't seem too alarmed.

"Good…" Jasper said. "The less of a fight you put up, the better, I suppose. Whatever's easier on me. I _really _don't like doing this, Dawn."

"Yes you do, Jasper," she said. "I can see it in your eyes that you wanna hurt me, that you wanna hurt innocent people. Maybe I don't know what I live for, but I know what you live for. You live to see people suffer, and die. You live so that you can see yourself be the only one living."

Jasper was taken aback by her words, even if they were true. "So be it, then." He said bitterly. He stood above her until he was sure that she was seeing the hallucinations, the ones that would eat away at her sanity. He walked away from her screaming and attempts at thrashing, knowing that, one way or another, this would end soon enough.


	24. Chapter 24

_November 27_

The knife bore through Ash's heart, his chest spewing blood as he fell to the ground.

"_No…_"

Each gunshot that hit Brock physically jarred him, dying after a few dozen bullets burst through his body.

"_Please, no…"_

And then it was her, screaming, trying to extinguish the flames that engulfed her body…Pikachu, being blown to bits by an Electrode…the rest of her pokémon, each receiving their own bullet to the head, or a slice to the throat…

"_DAMN IT, NO!"_

Dawn squeezed her eyes shut before opening them again. They were gone, for now at least. Each time she alleviated herself, however, it became harder to reject the hallucinations.

"_They're nothing,_" she thought, "_there's no weight to them. None of that's real, none of it's-"_

She took a shallow breath, swallowed a little, did anything to try and calm herself. Still, she couldn't help but scream when they started again, when she saw Zoey receive the knife to her back…

* * *

Ash weakly set his bags down and slumped beside a tree. Fatigue threatened to overcome him, but he kept himself from resting. "_If I fall asleep now," _he thought_, "I might never wake up…_"

"Piiiii…."

Ash looked at Pikachu, who lay in a puddle. "I know you're hungry, Pikachu," Ash said. "I'm starving, too. But we…we need to keep on going for just a little bit longer, at least until sundown. It's barely four o'clock, yet."

He forced himself onto his feet, but he quickly fell over again in a daze. The only thing that kept him from hitting the cold, hard, rocky earth was Magnezone, who scooped him up just before he made impact.

"Thanks," he mumbled. Ash quickly sat back down, supporting his head with his hand. "I'll get a fire going, while I can."

He fished around in his backpack for Torkoal's Poké Ball for several minutes before dumping the bag's contents onto the ground. The ball poked out from under the egg, which miraculously survived the cabin's destruction unscathed.

Torkoal collapsed just as he was released, suffering from fatigue and hunger like everyone else.

"Torkoal, do you think you have enough energy to make a fire?" Ash asked. It was more of a whisper, really.

The fire type said nothing, instead moaning lowly. Ash took that to mean an obvious 'No.'

"Alright, but can we at least use your back? We really need to cook up some food before we end up starving."

Torkoal nodded limply, the embers on his shell igniting a little.

Ash sifted through the pile before producing a can of beans, the last can of food that was left. Everything that was in Lance's bag, from his money to his food, was destroyed along with the cabin, making his food supply that much sparser. He tossed the Stantler meat aside, for it had developed some sort of green fungus on the surface.

He placed the beans on top of Torkoal, who failed to notice in his weariness. Ash sat down next to him, the heat from the pokémon nearly singing his hair in the process. His throat felt arid, but he didn't grab for his water bottle. It was the last one that they had left, and there was no telling where the nearest lake might be.

"_If only Buizel were here," _Ash thought, "_then finding water would be that…"_ His train of thought derailed, the thought of his pokémon throwing him off.

How long had it been since he had even thought about his pokémon? Probably the day of the invasion, when they first went missing. They could've died weeks ago, Ash thought, and he had never even thought about them, or _worried _about them.

But then there were the people who _were _dead, the ones that he hadn't thought about. Misty. Besides the day that Lance told him that she was dead, she hadn't even crossed his mind. The grunts, too. Sure, the Grunts were trying to kill him, but the fact that they went without thought…

And then there was Lance. Not even three days had passed since his death, and already Ash was forgetting about him. And after all that he did…

In anger, Ash grabbed for the egg and threw it as far as he could. The egg hit a tree, but it didn't break, or even crack. Instead, the tree was torn in half, the top of it falling to the earth clumsily.

His anger turned to shock. The pokémon stared in awe as Ash staggered toward the egg. When he picked it up, it was hot to the touch. Ash quickly drew his hand back to avoid being burned. "_What the hell IS this thing?"_ Ash thought. "_First it falls from the sky, glows in the dark, obliterates a tree and then nearly burns my hand!"_

He turned to Pikachu and the others, whose mouths were agape with shock. "You're probably going to ask how that just happened, but I don't have an answer," Ash said. He left the egg behind as he swiped the can of beans from Torkoal's back. "These should be done by now," he said, tipping some into his mouth. They were warm, but not too hot. "_Good enough for me," _Ash thought.

Ash only took that mouthful of beans for himself before dividing the remains between the others. He nearly ran out before he remembered that Dragonite would need to eat, too.

"That's all I have," Ash said, "but it's gonna have to hold until tomorrow." None of the pokémon said anything, which made Ash feel a little bit better. As long as they didn't complain, then that was one less thing to deal with. He returned everyone but Magnezone to their Poké Balls, and unearthed Dragonite from his before calling Magnezone back.

Dragonite threw his hand against a tree to keep himself standing. His skin looked paler than normal, and he looked ready to faint. He groaned a weak "Draa…" as Ash ran up to him, a roll of bandages in his hand.

"I knew keeping you in the ball was a bad idea." Ash said. He began to wrap up his wounds as he handed Dragonite the remaining food. The pokémon gulped it down, hardly even noticing the bandages being wrapped around his leg and shoulder. Dragonite looked longingly at the can when he finished, and turned to Ash with a starved look.

"That's all we've got, buddy," Ash said, finishing with patching up his wounds. Dragonite scowled, but didn't vocalize his discontent. The three of them curled up against a brutal breeze that blew in suddenly.

"Pika _pika!"_

Ash motioned for Pikachu to climb into his jacket as Dragonite curled up into a ball. Ash looked toward the setting sun, which bled a red aura and gradually died over the horizon. Without thought, he sauntered back to the egg and picked it up. The egg was no longer hot, but cool to the touch. "_No point wondering what the hell's up with this egg," _Ash thought, "_it's obvious that this isn't anything normal…"_

"If it's any comfort, Dragonite, we won't get to flying tonight." Ash said once he got back to them. "You're too weak, and I wanna wait until we're all properly fed and healed before we go anywhere."

Dragonite nodded heartily, as did Pikachu. "Draa-gon _Dra?"_

Ash shook his head. "No. That's a good point, actually. I _don't _have any idea of where Dawn might be. She's in a city, I know, but not in the one we were by. The building she was in…that must've been the Rocket Empire's Headquarters or something. But I don't know where that is."

Pikachu and Dragonite sighed in disappointment. Ash wanted to say something along the lines of, "Don't make me feel any worse about her being tortured, possibly dead," but Ash stopped himself. "_No need to bring them down, too."_

"Guys, listen to me." Ash knelt beside his pokémon and put his hand on Pikachu's shoulder. "We're gonna find her. She might be really hurt, but that doesn't matter. We're _gonna _find her."

Dragonite snorted while Pikachu said, "Pika-chu?"

"_Brock,"_ Ash thought. He was reminded, for the first time in two days, of how he ditched them, how he wasn't there when they woke up that morning, when Lance died…

"To hell with him." Ash said ruefully. Pikachu looked shocked at Ash's words, while Dragonite simply stared. "He ditched us! He could've been there to save Lance from being killed by the Empire, but no! Instead, he just HAD to run off to his family, just had to-"

Dragonite stood up suddenly and shouted angrily at Ash, nearly knocking him down. Ash opened his mouth to reprimand him, but then he saw Dragonite's expression of fear and desperation that spoke to him. It told him amidst teardrops to shut up and quit complaining about everyone and everything.

"I'm sorry," Ash breathed. He dusted himself off, Dragonite voicing his apologies. "Look, I'm sorry that everything is going to shit. But we need to stay positive, because if we're not, then that makes our chances of finding Dawn and the G-Men that much lower."

Dragonite nodded a forced nod before yawning.

"Let's just get some sleep. Do you wanna go back in your Poké Ball?"

He shook his head.

"Alright, then." Ash looked up at the agglomeration of trees that stood over him. "I'm gonna be up in one of the trees, but that might take me a while, because-"

Dragonite placed his hand on Ash's back. Ash turned to see Dragonite shaking his head and pointing toward the ground.

"I'm not sure if sleeping on the ground is a good idea, Dragonite, I-"

Dragonite shook his head again. Ash sighed. "Alright. It's probably better to give my leg some time to fully heal, anyways." Ash grabbed for one of his blankets and curled himself into a ball next to Dragonite, with Pikachu sleeping on top of the behemoth.

Ash shot one last look toward the near obliviated sun and sighed. "_Just hang in there, Dawn. I'm coming for you. I might not know where you're at, or even if you're still alive by now, but I'm coming for you."_

* * *

Brock and Kieran stood at the edge of the overpass, watching the night lights of Oreburgh slowly brighten in the distance. The other G-Men were either already in the mines or hanging back by the riverbank, where they had eaten their dinner rations. The dying November sun beat weakly against Brock's skin, but it wasn't enough to shield him from the cool breeze that followed.

"We can get you some warmer clothes once we get to the mines," Kieran said. She had pulled her hood over her head, both to keep warm and to help shield her identity from anyone they might meet on the way. "From here, they're about two thirds of a mile away."

"I can't see them, anywhere, though," said Brock.

Kieran sucked in a breath. "They're on the other edge of town. To make it worse, there are Rocket outposts stationed around the perimeter, so we'll have to go _through _town to get there."

"Great," Brock breathed. Kieran reached in her bag for a water bottle and, after opening the cap, doused Brock's head with the entire thing.

"This is to change up your appearance, if only a little. It'll wash away the dirt and grime, and flatten your hair a little, too." Kieran threw the bottle aside and turned back to the city. "Our biggest problem will be getting into Oreburgh. If we can't sneak past an outpost, we might have to take out a guard or two. Ready?"

"As I'll ever be, I guess."

The pair hiked down the overpass, the last remnants of sunlight being their only guide. It was purely dark by the time they scaled the whole thing, which Brock thought would be helpful. They silently filed past shriveled trees and wildlife toward the city, maneuvering around the dispersed streetlights.

Kieran stopped just a few hundred feet short of the city boundaries. "See that outpost, there?" she whispered. She pointed to a watch tower, which was manned by a single grunt facing away from them. "I think we can make a break for the underside of his tower. Then I can create some kind of distraction that'll face him away from the city. After that, it'll be a cake walk."

"Better than the plan I had," Brock said.

"Which was?"

"…Didn't have one, actually."

Kieran said nothing, and they inched toward the watch tower on feathered feet. The Grunt didn't hear them when they crouched under his watch tower.

"How exactly are we gonna distract him?" said Brock.

Kieran pulled out one of her Poké Balls and released Porygon. "Porygon, use Iron Tail on that streetlight!" she whispered, pointing to a streetlight that stood a dozen meters from them.

The pokémon agreed as Kieran ushered Brock to stand back. In one swift move, the pokémon launched an Iron Tail toward the streetlight, cutting it cleanly in two as its light went out.

"What was that?" they heard the Grunt say.

"Move!" Kieran hissed. She called back Porygon as they dashed toward a nearby building on the edge of the city. They dove into an alleyway, pausing to make sure that the Grunt did not see them.

"Are we good?" Brock asked. Kieran popped her head out to see if the Grunt had seen them.

Kieran sighed in relief. "Yeah. He didn't see us." Brock began to walk out, but Kieran tugged him back in. "Listen to me, Brock. When we go out there, make eye contact with no one. Don't show any emotion, don't speak to anyone. Just mind your own business and keep your head down. We can't afford anyone recognizing us, especially when you're on every wanted poster in the nation. Unless you're being shot at, keep your composure, alright?"

Brock nodded, and the two of them casually walked out of the alley and into the city. Brock couldn't help but gasp at the damage done, at how utterly ruined everything was. Buildings lay in shambles, bodies and debris littered the streets. There wasn't a living soul to be seen, apart from the sporadic Rocket Grunt that ambled along.

Kieran nudged Brock in the arm. "Head down!"

He did as he was told and diverted his eyes toward the sidewalk, or what was left of it. "_Is this disguise really gonna work?" _He thought. "_I'm still wearing the same clothes as I was before, and all Kieran did was wet my hair down a little. It can't really be that hard for anyone to tell that it's me, let alone one of those Grunts…"_

"I think your little disguise is working," Kieran whispered. "No one here is recognizing us. It's just another half a mile to the mines, and then we're in the clear."

Brock said nothing, his pounding heart keeping him silent. The last time he was in a city of any kind, Grunts were shooting at him left and right. Why should a makeshift hair job keep him from being killed in a split second?

A crack of gunfire could be heard, and Brock instinctively threw his hands over his head. Kieran, however, nudged him again. "It's not toward us, Brock. Keep going before someone notices that it's us."

They walked in silence for the rest of the half mile. Turning a corner, they found themselves in front of the Oreburgh mines, looming drearily over the smaller buildings. Kieran looked behind her before they entered, and everything turned dark.

"We made it," Kieran whispered. "Just lemme get my flashlight, and I can find the entrance."

A few seconds later, her flashlight illuminated the entire mine. There wasn't anything remarkable about it; just an abandoned mine cart and some pickaxes. Kieran disregarded them, walking down the mine like she was taking a Sunday stroll.

Brock noticed that the pickaxes seemed to be lined down the walls of the shaft evenly; he saw one every twenty feet or so. They were all marked with a letter, too. Brock didn't notice this until he passed a pick with a golden **F** marked on the handle.

Kieran walked up to one of the pickaxes, one that was marked **G**, and gave it a forceful tug. It swung about halfway toward the cave floor before stopping in place. "Brock, go to the pickaxe marked with the Eand pull on it. This is how we get into the base."

Brock ran back to the **E**-marked pick as Kieran ran in the opposite direction. He pulled down on it like Kieran had, doing so until it stopped a few feet from the floor. "_G…now E…what does any of this mean?!"_ He thought. He ran back to Kieran, who had pulled down the **M** pick.

"Kieran, what do these letters mean?" Brock asked.

"It's the code to get in," Kieran said. She walked toward the next pick over, **N**, and gave it a hard tug. Suddenly, a section of the wall beside her tore away, revealing an opening into another hallway.

"The four picks spell out 'G-Men'," she explained. "This way."

They walked down the corridor for minutes before stopping at a dead end. Kieran knocked a few times on the rocky surface, which activated a camera, tucked away in a corner.

"Names?" said a voice. Brock looked around wildly, trying to figure out where it came from, but Kieran stood unfazed.

"Agent Kieran Galloway, reporting. I have target of interest Brock Harrison with me."

"Thank you."

The wall that blocked their path suddenly shifted to the right, which revealed a bright room, decked in white from top to bottom, behind it. The pair walked in, shielding their eyes from the fulgid lights above.

"Looks like the two of you made it here alive, then!"

Brock squinted to see Sanus, standing among a cluster of men all decked in the same blue hoodies and khaki pants as he and Kieran were. Most of the men looked a little younger than Sanus, but one looked like he was at least sixty. They stood over a table that was covered in maps, papers, and who knew what else.

"Wasn't bad, actually," Kieran responded. "We got by alright. What about the others?"

Sanus sighed. "Most of them made it here okay, but Porter and Ashlyn never made it back. They left an hour before you were supposed to. I can only hope that they're okay, but…"

"Shame," Kieran said flatly. Brock noticed that the men stared at him curiously. One of them, a tall fellow with lavender highlights in his hair, chose to glare at him menacingly, his black irises tinted with a shade of murder.

"What, you've never seen a fugitive before?" he said.

It was the older man that spoke. "It's just that we weren't exactly expecting you to come back…well, _alive_. The Empire has been on your ass for so long, we thought that we'd never find you!" The old man extended his hand. "I'm Algernon Morawski," he said. "I'm the Lead Commander of the G-Men in Sinnoh. You're in good hands, now."

He returned the handshake. "Thanks. So exactly what's gonna happen now?"

"Sleep, I should say." Replied Algernon. "The first thing that we want to do is brief you on everything that's happened, but it's much too late for that. Leon, take him to the Barracks and get him situated, would you?"

The man with the purple hair snorted as he came forward. He passed by Brock silently, not saying a word to him or to the superiors. Brock followed him, bidding Kieran a small "Good night" as he followed Leon to the back of the room. There, a door stood slightly ajar, which Leon shoved open.

They walked in silence down a brightly lit corridor. Brock didn't know quite what to say to Leon to break the ice. Any question that he could think of seemed inappropriate or awkward. He looked down and noticed a red leather wristband on Leon's arm, the word "EVERYTHING" engraved in bold, blocky lettering.

"What does that mean?" Brock asked. "Your bracelet, I mean."

Leon turned to him briskly. "Wouldn't you like to know?" he snapped. The man continued walking without another word to Brock.

Brock wanted to stand up to his rudeness, but he suddenly turned a corner into a doorway labeled "BARRACKS".

"That's your cot, here up front," said Leon. Brock laid his stuff down before he felt himself pushed up against a wall. Leon forced his arm against Brock's chest as he said, "Listen here, shitface. Just because you're the G-Men's new favorite person doesn't mean that you're mine. So stay out of my way if you know what's good for you. _Got it_?"

Brock, taken aback by his hostility, nodded in fright. Leon dropped him and shot him one last look before starting for the door, spitting toward Brock's feet as he walked out of sight.

He turned to see the other agents in the room, either staring at him or waking up from the sound of the confrontation. They gave quizzical looks, but none of them looked surprised.

"Is he always an asshole like that?" Brock asked. A few of the G-Men nodded. Brock said nothing in return, instead opting to flop onto the thin cot. It wasn't the most comfortable of sleeping surfaces, but it would do.

* * *

Dawn was too weak to put up any more of a fight. The hallucinations of the past four hours were too emotionally draining, and they still hadn't quit. She could no longer make them go away; all she could do was watch in horror, and tell herself that it wasn't real. But she had a hard time believing that now.

The sun had long set by now, and with it had gone Dawn's hopes for survival. She may as well have been on her deathbed, she was that weak.

"I'm giving you one last chance, Dawn." said Jasper's voice. "You can come clean about Ash and the egg, or I'll just keep torturing you until you can talk."

Dawn could hardly hear what he had said, but she returned with the one thing that she wanted to say: "Go to hell!"

Jasper growled. "Fine. Don't say that you didn't deserve this, you bitch."

An electric current suddenly hit Dawn full force, causing her to shriek in pain for the umpteenth time. Whether it was from a pokémon or from some sort of machine, she didn't know. She was too weak to try and resist the pain. All she could do was sit there and take it, and watch as the hallucinations grew more abhorrent by the minute.

Ash was cut into pieces by several pokémon, who drank his blood when they were finished. Brock received an axe to the neck, chopping his head off in one clean sweep. Zoey came face to face with a-

The electric current suddenly became stronger, and Dawn's heart started to race. She kept her eyes closed, to shield herself from the illusions, but even then she could see them as clear as day. Pikachu, having his limbs broken one by one. Herself, having nails drilled into her skull. Zoey, being beaten to death with a sledgehammer.

They all looked so real, so tangible. And she believed that they were real, and she believed now that she would die.

* * *

_November 28_

A dull, moaning noise woke Ash up. Everything was dark; he figured that it was somewhere close to midnight, if not later than that. In the distance, he spotted a glistening object, one that seemed to jitter above the ground. Ash couldn't tell, but it looked like the wing of a pokémon.

He got up and began to walk toward it, leaving both of the sleeping pokémon behind. When he reached the pokémon, he saw that it was a Ninjask, whose wing was trapped under a large rock. It struggled to break free, but couldn't.

"Hey there," Ash said, slowly kneeling beside the bug type. "I'm gonna get this thing off of ya, okay?"

The Ninjask said nothing as it continued to struggle. Ash placed both hands under the rock and lifted the rock, straining to do so. It crawled out from under the rock as Ash set it back down.

Ninjask, instead of responding in thanks, lunged at Ash, his blade-like arms unsheathed and swinging. Ash batted it aside, receiving a cut down his arm in the process. The bug was thrown into a tree, falling to the ground in the process.

Ash ran back to his pokémon, screaming, clutching his bleeding hand. Dragonite and Pikachu woke up, looking at Ash with bewildered eyes. From the corner of his eye, Ash saw the Ninjask returning, ready for action once more. Dragonite began to charge up a Hyper Beam, but a sudden String Shot hit his arm, knocking him down.

Pikachu stepped in with a Thunderbolt, which narrowly missed the Ninjask. It retaliated with another String Shot, which hit Pikachu square in the chest and launched him into Dragonite. Dragonite tried to get the string off himself, but another, more massive String Shot pinned his arms behind his back, rendering them useless. He fell to the ground, unable to get back up without falling over again.

Ninjask diverted his attention back to Ash, who watched everything unfold helplessly. He dived out of the way to avoid yet another String Shot, but was knocked to the ground when his hand was glued to his leg. Before he could get back up, he felt more of the sticky silk pin his other arm and his legs to the cold, hard ground.

A Hyper Beam barely clipped Ninjask's wing, but that wasn't enough to bring him down. Ash could only watch and struggle as Dragonite's mouth was strung shut.

"_That's it," _Ash thought, _"we're done. We're goners."_

The bug pokémon flew up to Ash, his blade raised in the air. He put the blade to Ash's neck, but did not kill him. Instead, Ash felt something hard press down on his stomach, almost like a foot.

"Hey there, sweetums!"

Ash looked up and saw the Ninjask's owner. There was no mistaking her long, brown hair, or the red "R" on her jumpsuit. There was no mistaking the murderous look on Laina's face.


	25. Chapter 25

_November 28_

"Took me a whole day to find you, Ash," Laina said. "That's what's gonna make killing you _so _worth it." She cracked another sinister grin, and pressed her foot harder on Ash's stomach.

"I never had personal attention from the regional head of a syndicate before." Ash grunted, struggling against his bonds. He darted his eyes toward Pikachu and Dragonite, who were still trapped and gagged in the mass of string. He turned back to Laina, pine needles and mud molding his hair into a Christmas tree. "For a government that wants to kill me so badly, this seems awful personal."

"Like hell it is," Laina spat. "I'm just taking orders, is all. That's all this job is, orders." Ash could barely see her angered expression in the pale moonlight.

"From who, that Jasper psycho? Because you don't have to-"

Ninjask's blade pushed closer to his throat, a dot of blood oozing from under his chin. Ash wiggled his right hand, testing the string that plastered it to his leg. The webbings felt thick, but he found a weak spot that allowed him access into his pocket. "_If only I could reach one of my Poké Balls,_" Ash thought.

"Don't give me that shit!" Laina stood unfazed by the blistering winter breeze. "You're right, I don't have to. But this is personal with Jasper, and if it's personal with him, it's personal with everyone. I don't wanna kill you, Ash, really, I don't."

"You don't have to! He doesn't have to know that this ever happened!" He pleaded.

"That's the problem, though. He knows everything. _Everything._"

Ash noticed the twinge of desperation and fear in her eyes, and he believed her. He could see in those glimmering, personified eyes that Laina wanted nothing but to get away from the Empire, from Jasper. And her definition of that was to give him Ash's head.

"Well, you managed to spend another minute pleading for your life," said Laina, cracking an evil, albeit ersatz grin. "That was a waste, wasn't it? It's not like it's gonna matter."

In a suicidal move, Ash surged his arm forward, breaking his bonds and hitting Ninjask square in the jaw.

"It matters," Ash said. He couldn't help but grin cockily.

Laina stood for a minute, shocked, before swinging her fist at him. Ash grabbed her fist, blocking it from his face. From the corner of his eye, he saw Ninjask flying back toward them. Ash pulled Laina toward him with all of his might, causing Ninjask to ram into Laina at full speed. The mercenary and her pokémon slammed into a tree, knocking the wind out of both of them.

Grabbing for his knife, Ash sawed frantically at the string that bound his other arm, severing it only when Laina broke into another run for him. He managed to break the bindings off of his legs before diving to avoid Laina, her knife drawn and ready for battle.

They both stood with knives in hand, eyes locked. Ninjask sat on the ground, waiting for someone to make a move.

"It takes two to tango, sweetums," Laina said. Ash couldn't tell, but was…was that fear in her eyes?

"In that case, may I have this dance?"

Laina charged at Ash full force, teeth bared, knife aimed at his heart. He swallowed and charged back, ducking just before Laina could cut him. She tripped, but got up before Ash tackled her back down.

They struggled for control of each other, throwing each other around with knives in hand. Ash reached for his pocket and flung out one of his Poké Balls without seeing who it was. A sudden blast of heat signaled Torkoal's release.

"Torkoal! Take down that-"Ash began, but a kick to his face cut him short, causing him to cry in pain. He threw Laina off of him once more and ran toward Pikachu and Dragonite. He only made it a few meters before Laina's knife grazed his leg, creating a gash that downed him. Torkoal, meanwhile, launched a Flamethrower at Ninjask that hit him directly.

Panting, Ash looked up to see Laina, her gun drawn and pointed at him. In a last ditch effort, Ash threw his backpack at her. It flew at breakneck speed toward Laina, who couldn't react fast enough to prevent the pack from hitting her arm. A loud crack could be heard, and Laina dropped her gun, clutching her broken arm.

"_The egg was in that pack," _Ash realized, "_and it broke her arm, like it did that tree…"_

Ash seized the opportunity and, with knife in hand, threw Laina against a tree. She swung her foot towards his gut, but Ash blocked it with his wounded leg, pinning her against the tree. From the corner of his eye, Ash saw Ninjask fall to the ground, his fighting energy completely obliterated.

"Funny," Ash said, "I thought you were a top-notch mercenary. I don't know about you, but this is the first time I've seen a fighter like you go down so easily." He put the knife to her neck, the same way that she had earlier.

Laina squirmed weakly, the look in her eyes recognizing that she lost. She smiled another evil grin, but even Ash could see that it was forced, with no meaning to it. "Alright, then. If you beat me, then why don't you just kill me?" she said.

"Doesn't work like that," Ash returned. "Unlike you, I don't kill because I'm told to. I _will _do it, though, if you can't cooperate with me."

"What the hell do you mean by that?"

"You're gonna tell me where Dawn is," Ash said. "You're gonna tell me where she is, and where you came from this morning."

"And what makes you think that I'd just tell you all of that?" Laina retorted. She continued to struggle, but Ash held her firm against the tree.

"With all due respect, Laina, I'm not the one with the knife to my throat anymore."

Laina laughed hysterically. "You're bluffing, kid," she jeered. "You're no killer. I can see it in your eyes. You couldn't kill if your life depended on it."

"That makes two of us. You coulda killed me on the spot there, but you chose to talk. You chose to admit that you didn't wanna kill me."

She continued to squirm, but he only pinned her harder against the tree. "Maybe I was lying," she coaxed, "maybe I was just playing you. "

"No way. I could tell that was genuine. You meant what you said, and we both know it." He paused. "That's why I'm not killing you. Because you wouldn't kill me."

Laina stopped struggling, taking a moment to breathe. She took out her cell phone and threw it on the ground. Ash gave her a confused look before she pointed to her gun. "Shoot it," she mouthed.

Ash wanted to ask why, but reserved it. He did as he was told, taking her gun and shooting her phone half a dozen times. "Why'd you have me do that?" he asked, throwing her gun aside.

"So that Jasper can't hear what I'm about to say. He'd kill me if he heard this, and that phone transmits everything to him. Dawn's at Headquarters, in Jubilife. I don't know how you're gonna get there, because neither of us have any idea of where the hell we are."

"Jubilife, huh?" Ash said. "One more question. What city did you come from, when you came for me this morning?"

"Eterna," she replied quickly. "I was there on business when I found out where you were."

"Alright, then. Was that so hard, now?" Ash asked.

"I didn't give you that information because you have the knife to my neck," she said. "I did it because I chose to. But this doesn't make us friends or anything."

"Never said it did. But maybe now we're not enemies. Sorry for this."

Before Laina could respond, Ash delivered an uppercut to Laina's chin, knocking her out. She slumped to the ground, unmoving. "_That was a bit too easy," _Ash thought. "_Almost like she let me beat her…"_

He turned to his pokémon, who were still struggling inside their webbings. Ash limped over to them, careful not to put too much pressure on his bleeding leg, and started cutting at their bindings. When he finished, the two pokémon tackled him in a bear hug laced with muffled cries of relief from both Ash and the pokémon.

"Guys, I'm not done yet!" Ash exclaimed, "I still gotta get that stuff off of your mouth!" They got off of him and allowed Ash to remove their gags.

"Pika pi chu?"

Ash called back Torkoal and turned to Laina, who still lay unconscious. "I don't think she's dead. But she won't be out for long," he said. He grabbed for Laina's bag, sighing in relief at the sight of half a box of granola bars. He took one for himself before handing the rest of Dragonite. "Eat those up," he said. "We're gonna take off in a minute."

Dragonite looked at him curiously. "Gon nite _gon?_"

Ash grinned. "I know where Dawn is," he said, "and where we gotta go. We're flying there, and you'll need your energy."

The dragon pokémon wolfed down the granola bars, tearing the wrappers off of them madly. Ash did the same to his, devouring the whole thing in two bites. He went back to Laina's bag, finding a coil of rope, some ammunition, and an empty Poké Ball. He returned Ninjask to his Poké Ball and shoved him into Laina's bag.

Grabbing the rope, he tied Laina's wrists together. After pausing for a minute, he brought the rope down to her ankles and tied those together, too.

"Pika?"

Ash turned to Pikachu. "We're- well, I'm gonna use her as bait. That's how we're gonna get Dawn back. If the Empire doesn't wanna give her up, then we might have to off her."

"CHA!"

"No, I don't wanna do it!" Ash argued. "But if we can't rescue Dawn, then we might have to!"

Dragonite finished the last of his granola bars and walked toward Laina. He looked at her for a second before slipping her hands over his neck, carrying her like she was a messenger bag. Ash couldn't help but chuckle.

"You'll have enough strength to carry her to Jubilife, then? It's gonna take about an hour to fly there." Ash warned.

Dragonite nodded, a look of determination on his face. Ash saddled onto his back, his two backpacks slung over his shoulder. Pikachu climbed up and perched himself on Dragonite's head.

"Pikachu, I want you to stay in the bag, like we did before." Ash said. Pikachu turned to him with a mild look of disappointment. "I'm sorry, but I can't risk something happening to you while we're in the air."

Pikachu sighed, but retreated into Ash's backpack. He poked his head out of the slit at the bottom with a "Pika!"

"Ready to take off, Dragonite?" Ash asked.

The dragon pokémon snorted, sending a small puff of smoke into the air.

"Alright, then. Just, uh…kick off whenever you-"

Dragonite took off suddenly, soaring into the air faster than Ash had prepared himself for. He nearly fell off, grabbing Laina's leg just before he could plummet to earth. Dragonite stopped in midair to pull him up, Ash thanking him as he mounted himself back on the pokémon.

Ash turned to his right, where both Eterna and the destroyed cabin lay. "_If Eterna is due north, and Jubilife is directly south, then I'll wanna go left. Right?_"

"Only one way to find out," he said to himself. "Dragonite, head left. That's where Jubilife is, I'm sure."

Dragonite nodded, making a sharp left turn as he flew higher over the forest canopy. Ash looked down, then back up quickly. He hadn't been so high up in the air for almost a month, and having to do it now felt disorienting. Sickening, almost.

He shook it off, willing himself not to beg Dragonite to fly back down. "Straight ahead, Dragonite!" he shouted instead. Pikachu voiced the same command as Dragonite flapped his wings, surging them forward in a boost of speed.

"_I won't kill her," _Ash thought suddenly. "_Even if it came to it, even if Dawn ends up dead, I wouldn't kill her. It's not what she deserves."_

* * *

Dawn no longer saw the dying, or the tortured. All she saw now was the dead.

Ash, dead. Zoey, dead. Brock, dead. Every single one of their pokémon, dead. Lance, dead.

She couldn't help but laugh. Lance had been dead for a while now, but what did that matter? They were all dead now. Everyone but her. Isn't that what she deserved, to be the last one alive? To watch everyone suffer and die before she could have the privilege?

Another electrical current hit her, but the pain wasn't there. She could just make out Jasper, standing in a corner, grinning. Was it him that was shocking her? Couldn't be. But what was?

She could feel the electricity strike her, but she couldn't feel the pain. The pain wasn't there anymore, she noticed. All that was there was madness, insanity.

Her laughter turned into cackles, her misty eyes darting around the room. Short, rapid breathing sporadically interrupted her screams of laughter. Jasper began to walk toward her, his grin turning into a leering smile.

"Little Man!" Dawn exclaimed madly. "_Little Man_!"

Jasper chuckled. "Little Man, darling? Why, you look ever so troubled."

Her eyes locked onto Jasper's. He couldn't help but wince at the madness, the crazed look in her eyes. "Little Man! Little Man! Littlelittlelittlelittlelittlelittle Man!"

Jasper grabbed for her neck and faced her, their eyes mere inches apart. "What's Little Man? _Who's _Little Man?"

Dawn shrieked in laughter, causing Jasper to step away a few feet. "Little Man, Jasper, _Little Man!_ The Big Man climbed on our backs, and we just b-b-boosted him on our shoulders!" She was practically shouting now amidst her laughter. "Little Man was flicked off of Big Man's back, _flicked,_ like a bug on a windshield! But Little Man…he's gonna climb back up, Jasper!"

Jasper steadily backed away from her, his face aghast with fright. He turned to the grunt that stood by the doorway, who looked equally frightened. "Bring me that Zoey girl, now! That might shut her up."

The grunt walked out as Dawn finished her tirade. "Little Man's gonna climb back up, he'll r-rise back from ash, and what'll he do? _What'll he do?_" Her eyes turned bloodshot, rolled over almost. Her head started twitching, blocked only by the vice. "_He'll just fall back down, like any other bug on a windshield, but Big Man's gonna go with him. They're both gonna fall, and Little Man will get his vengeance._"

Jasper felt sick when Dawn started cackling again.

* * *

Jubilife City first appeared as a speck on the glowing horizon, growing with the morning sunlight. Ash had to shield his eyes from the intensifying brightness, his other hand holding tightly onto Laina's bindings. He could just make out the Rocket Headquarters, its mammoth penthouse window and blood red "R" barely distinguishable from the skyline.

"That's it, Dragonite," Ash said. "That's Jubilife." He grinned nervously. "Pikachu, when we...do whatever we end up doing, you're to stay in that bag. I can't risk those Grunts shooting you on sight."

Ash heard a snore come from the bag. He moved to wake him up, but the whirring noise of a pair of helicopters blasted behind him. He turned to see the choppers, advancing toward him swiftly, with a distinct air of authority. Ash gulped and, grabbing for Laina's unconscious body, pointed his gun at her head, his finger hovering over the trigger.

Dragonite looked behind his shoulder, quickening his pace at the sight of the helicopters. "_No way this will work," _Ash thought. "_They must be able to take me down and salvage Laina, right?"_

Apparently, they couldn't. The choppers hovered in place for a moment before flying off in the other direction, leaving Ash with a clear path to Dawn. He grimaced at the blood trail from his leg, which painted itself down Dragonite's spine, but he willed himself to push forward.

* * *

"Get up, shitface!"

Brock felt a hard impact on the side of his head. He howled in pain, rolling off of his cot and onto the cement floor.

"Get up!"

Brock looked up to see Leon, anger upon his face. "What the hell's your problem?" he bellowed. "You can't just wake me up like a sane person?"

Leon violently kicked Brock in the leg before dragging him up by the collar of his jacket. "Commander Morawski needs you in the Briefing Room, and I don't have all day to wait for you to get off of your ass!"

Brock swatted him away. "I can get there on my own, thanks!" Leon shot him a furious look before walking off, Brock following far behind. The hallway smelled faintly of copper. _"Probably from the mines," _Brock concluded

He found himself in the Briefing Room, the same, white room that they first entered last night. Sitting at a large, round table were Algernon, Sanus, Leon, and about five other G-Men agents, their hoodies forming a semicircular wave of blue.

"Alright, I gotta ask," Brock said, "what's with the hoodies? All of you guys are wearing them."

"Downgraded uniforms," Sanus replied. "Before the invasion, we all had uniforms similar to Lance's. We switched to these, so that we didn't stand out as much. Lance was the only one who didn't make the switch. You can pull up that chair, the one that's in the corner."

Brock spotted the metal folding chair and sat down, making him the only one not a part of the semi-circle.

Algernon rose. "Brock, before we get you into weapons training we're gonna debrief you on everything that's happened since October 29th of last year."

"Wait, what happened then?"

Algernon's expression went from stern to grim. "That was the day the Rocket Empire invaded Kanto. But before we begin, I think that introductions are in order." He pointed to the agent on the far left. "That there is Barkson Rousseau, Mara Totten, Leon Shinji, myself, Sanus Trine, Alicia Garraty, Tabitha Escobar, and Charles Decker. The eight of us make up what's left of the Sinnoh's G-Men Executive Board. The other twelve, Lance included, have died in the past two weeks, most of them in the invasion."

All of the agents except for Leon gave Brock a curt nod as their names were called. Leon continued to stare at Brock menacingly, his attention only partially fixated on Algernon.

"Alright then, let's begin," Algernon said. He sat back down in his chair.

"We're not gonna wait for the other agents to get here first?" Brock asked.

"They already know everything. Besides, it's only six AM, much too early for any of them to be up for anything else."

Brock nodded. Algernon gave a low cough. "Alright, then. When the Empire first invaded Kanto last year, the G-Men were - well, _everyone, _really, was caught off guard. No one expected them to come back with that much firepower, let alone under Jasper's command.

Brock raised his hand sheepishly, sparking a ripple of nervous laughs across the room.

"You don't have to raise your hand, Brock, just speak if you have a question," Sanus said.

He lowered his hand. "What about Giovanni? What happened to him that lost him his job?"

Algernon beat Sanus to the punch. "Giovanni Vittore supposedly died of a heart attack three years ago. That's the cover story, anyways. Some people, the G-Men included, think that Jasper killed him and his son for power."

Brock shuddered, his heart lurching suddenly.

"Anyways," Algernon continued, "Kanto was so unprepared and so unarmed that they fell to the Empire in no time flat. Johto went down a week later, on November the 4th."

The man on the right, Barkson, stood up. His dark skin stood out starkly against the white interior. "If you will, Commander Morawski, I'd like to interject here." He turned to Brock. "I'm in charge of the technological systems within the division."

Brock and Algernon nodded.

"As Sanus might've told you, no one warned Sinnoh of the impending invasion ahead of time. The Empire killed Kanto's satellites, electrical grids, everything, before invading. This pretty much stranded them from the outside world."

"Lance said something once about censorship, too," Brock said. "Any communication that does get through to the other regions is staged."

Barkson nodded. "That's pretty much how they're running things. But we're baffled by how they were able to obtain so much weaponry. Never before did they use them, and the Kanto and Johto forces couldn't defend against them."

"But how did you get them?"

Algernon jumped back in. "We've had a fair bit of support from Team Galactic when it comes to arms." Brock raised his eyebrows as Algernon laughed, his laughter sounding as old as him. "Surprised? So were we. Apparently they were ruined by the Empire's plans. Better to help someone else than keep it for your dying self, right?"

Brock shrugged. "Does the Empire know we're here?"

"They know that we're planted somewhere in the region, but where they have no idea. They've only killed so many of us because they're killing anyone that looks shifty to them."

"So where does all of this leave us now?"

"At this point, with what defenses and men we have," Algernon said, "pulling off a successful counter offensive will be a long shot. Before the invasion, we had two hundred and twelve agents in the region. Seventy seven of those are alive today, thirty nine of which are here. We're trying to get everyone safely to one of the two bases we have in Sinnoh, but not everyone has survived the journey."

"But do we have enough weapons? And what about pokémon?"

Mara spoke up. "It's not the weapons that are an issue. Team Galactic has given us everything that we could ever need." She smiled suddenly. "My name's Mara, by the way."

Brock nodded.

"But it's the pokémon that are a bit more of an issue," she continued. "We have to use every pokémon that we can to some extent in battle. When you start training with Leon, he'll see what your pokémon can do."

Groaning at the prospect of training with Leon, he saw him shoot a look of protest toward Algernon, who refuted it with a stern stare.

"That's pretty much all we've got," Algernon said, "but we need to know why The Empire is after you. We haven't heard anything from the inside on why they want you."

Brock breathed, forcing himself to retell the story of the egg that fell from the sky. He covered everything, from the egg to Ash's kidnapping that night, to the invasion, and stopping at Lance's death. He didn't want to admit it, but it felt soothing to get all of that off of his chest, almost like it had no longer happened to him.

"And the three of us have been split up since then," Brock finished. He purposely left out how he ditched them in favor of his family. "At this point, I have no idea if Ash or Dawn are alive, or if Ash still has the egg."

"We can't speak for Ash. The radio broadcast we sent out hasn't returned anything. As far as we know, he's still alive. One of our insiders reported that he might've been spotted outside of Eterna yesterday, but he couldn't confirm."

"And Dawn?"

Algernon bit his lip. "Brock, I'm sorry, but Dawn's bounty was removed yesterday morning. Same goes for Zoey McHale." The look in his stone eyes revealed a hint of sadness, one that Brock took to be genuine.

Brock cast his head toward the tiled floor, his heart and stomach sinking rapidly. "_Could Dawn and Zoey really be dead? They might be alive if I hadn't ditched them…could they? _He felt a tear generate in his eye, but he blinked it away. It wouldn't do any good to look weak in front of these guys, he reasoned.

He stood up. "When do I start training?"

The executives laughed. "Eager, are we?" Sanus said. "Don't you wanna eat breakfast first? Forgive me, but you don't exactly look well-fed to me."

"Touché. But where will Leon and I be training, anyways?"

"There's a junkyard just outside of the mines. We have hidden manholes in there that lead straight down here. Leon will show you after breakfast."

Brock kept his focus on Sanus, but saw from the corner of his eye a mischievous grin from Leon.

* * *

Jasper could only watch in horror as Dawn went on cackling, going on about "Little Man". That couldn't mean anything, right? No, it had to be from the Succubus Syringe. But it all sounded so...haunting. She couldn't have come up with something so chilling in her madness…could she?

"_Little man! Little man!"_

The grunt that he had sent out entered, dragging Zoey by the scruff of her neck. She looked like she was putting up a fair fight, too; the Grunt was nearly choking her, he was holding on that tight.

"_Liiiiiiiiitle Maaaaaann's gonna climb baaaack up! He was flicked off, but he'll climb back up! Up, up, up, up, uuuuuup!"_

"Whataya want me ta do with 'er?" the Grunt asked.

Jasper thumbed toward the wall facing Dawn. Her cackling grew louder, and Jasper had to restrain himself from bursting into tears of fright. The grunt dragged Zoey to the wall, just within Dawn's view.

"_Liiiiiiiiiiiii-"_

He grabbed for the pistol in his drawer and fired it into the ceiling, silencing Dawn. She strained her eyes to look at Jasper, the madness and insanity still visible in her irises.

"I've dealt with your resistance long enough, girl," Jasper said. "But you quit with this Little Man shit right now, or the redhead's gonna get it." His Scyther walked in the room, sharpening his blade on the doorknob as he did so.

Zoey looked at Dawn with determination. No fright, Jasper noticed. She tried to say something, but all that came out was a low groan.

Dawn fixated on Jasper still, slowly breaking a toothy grin before bursting into laughter once more. "You can't kill her," she laughed. "She's already dead, like everyone else."

Jasper gulped, clenching his gun. He mentally recoiled at the thought of killing Zoey, but this…this _bitch _was essentially making him do it. He raised the gun to Zoey's head, but before he could fire the wall-sized window suddenly came crashing in. Jasper was knocked off his feet, his sling hitting the floor as he screamed in pain.

An orange blur flew across the room, creating a path of destruction that tore through Dawn's chair as well as the rest of the furniture. She slid across the ground, freed from her restraints yet unmoving. The grunt raised his gun, but Jasper shouted for him to hold his fire.

The chaos subsided just as quickly as it started. Debris and glass littered the lavish carpeting, turning the royal Executive Office into a sheer warzone. The orange blur, whatever it was, stood up as Scyther picked Dawn up, holding his blade-like arm to her neck.

It wasn't the towering Dragonite that made him gasp. Nor was it the sight of Ash, dressed in dark clothing with a gun in hand. It's what he was pointing the gun at that alarmed Jasper. For slung around the Dragonite's neck was Laina, her uniform tattered, body bloodied, wrists and ankles bound. Her eyes were closed, and it didn't look like she was breathing, either.

Ash took one sweeping look around the room, hardly fazed by the sight of Dawn's ravaged state. "Stalemate," he growled, pushing his gun closer to Laina's temple.

Jasper didn't argue with him on that one.

* * *

**A/N: Alright guys, so as you can tell I'm off of my hiatus. I still haven't gotten back into the full writing swing yet, so it _could _be a little bit longer before the next chapter. In any case, be sure to review and tell me what you thought of the chapter!**

Thanks for reading!


	26. Chapter 26

_November 28_

Jasper's mouth hung. "Is she…?"

"No," Ash replied. "And she won't be, if I get what I want." He remained mounted on Dragonite, using one hand to grasp Laina's arm while the other pointed a gun at her head.

Jasper and Dawn burst into fits of laughter, with the Grunt and Zoey remaining resigned. "Just because you've crashed my party, you think that you won?" Jasper asked. Dawn continued laughing maniacally as he went on. "Kid, Dawn's nearly dead, and the other one is – _shut up!_" He grabbed a piece of mahogany wood from his ruined desk and flung it at her, hitting her in the stomach.

Ash shouted in fury, firing into the ground a few inches from Laina's foot. "Touch her again and Laina's getting it!" Zoey continued to struggle from her headlock, while Dawn simply limped in the Scyther's grip.

"Ash, you're not the one calling the shots!" Zoey croaked. Her voice sounded like she had been dehydrated for days. "Just listen to what this guy is saying!" The grunt tightened his grip on her neck, causing her to yelp in pain.

"_Little Man's gonna rriiiisee up, Ash!" _Dawn burst. Ash gasped when he saw her hair had been completely burned off, her scalp burned in several places. The skin on her face was blistered and burned. She looked nearly unrecognizable. _ "He's gonna-"_

Jasper moved for his gun, but Ash coughed and nudged his gun toward Laina. "Dammit, Ash!" Jasper shouted. "There's two ways we're gonna do this! We can do this my way, or the 'You're all dead motherfuckers' way! Your pick!"

Ash stared him down, keeping his gun pointed at Laina's head. Dragonite growled, but Ash ran his hand down his neck, calming the pokémon down. Zoey eased her struggling, while Dawn kept chuckling under her breath. "_Little Man," _she moaned, "_Liiiiiiitle Maaann…"_

"What do you want?" Ash asked.

Jasper grinned. "You give me the egg _and_ Laina, and I'll let the three of you walk. We'll even take you guys off of the Wanted posters, and that Brock kid as well."

"Wouldn't it be easier to just kill us off now? And what makes you think I have the egg in the first place?" Ash scoffed. Zoey shot him a look of accusation, one that said, "_Are you crazy?!"_ Dawn continued chuckling, her eyes darting madly around the destroyed room.

"I shouldn't have to kill you all to get what I want," Jasper said calmly, "or even have to harm anyone. It's not something that I like to do-"

"Don't lie to me!" Ash barked. "You like to torture and kill, and you know it!" He felt his rage smoking from every crevice on his body. "You like to see people suffer and die, that's why so many people and pokémon lost their lives! Because you _like _to see it happen!"

"Only because they chose to resist!" Jasper argued. "They could've gone down without a fight, but they chose to defy the Empire!"

"They defied you because of what you're doing!" Ash visibly strained to keep from pulling his trigger in anger. "Who wouldn't defy a syndicate that obliterates a region on sight? You're not killing those who defy you, Jasper, you're killing in cold blood! That's why Dawn's Cyndaquil is dead, why Lance was killed. They defied you, yes, but you didn't kill them because of that. You killed them in cold blood."

Dawn winced suddenly, like she had been slapped in the face. Jasper took up Dawn's snorting, one that Ash fought not to quell with a bullet. "In your backpack, there," Jasper said, pointing to Ash's pack. "I can see the egg bulging from it. There doesn't have to be any more trouble, now. Just hand it over, and you three can leave."

"How do I know that you won't kill us as soon as I give it to you?" Ash asked.

"I," Jasper said with a newfound sense of formality, "am a man of my word. I can't promise that any grunts that might find you afterwards, though, won't kill you. They'll kill just about anyone in, as you call it, cold blood. But it's not like you'll be our top priority anymore."

Ash looked to Dawn, her scarred face showing manic indifference. "_She's so zoned out, I don't even think she knows what's going on!"_ he thought. Zoey, he saw, didn't look scared. On the contrary, she stared Jasper down with a hateful, almost fearless look. Scyther and the grunt stood expressionless, staring ahead toward nothing in particular.

"Alright, Dragonite," he said, "drop Laina nice and easy now."

"Dr_aaa!" _Dragonitebegan in protest.

"No. Don't do that. Just set her down." Ash gave Dragonite an apologetic look, one that recognized their loss. The pokémon lifted Laina over his head and set her on the ground, on top of a large piece of glass from the broken window.

With a sorrowful breath, he dug into his pack and grabbed for the egg. Pikachu poked his head up, having been hidden in the pack the whole time. Ash lightly shoved him aside and gripped the egg, brushing it like it was a live pokémon. After one last pat of remembrance, Ash gingerly lobbed it to Jasper, who caught it with a cradling arm.

"Very well," Jasper said. Scyther released Dawn from her grip, as did the other Grunt with Zoey. Dawn collapsed to the ground, weakly chuckling once more. Zoey ran up to her and threw her over the shoulder in a fireman's carry. The two reached Ash and mounted Dragonite, who grimaced under the added weight.

Jasper broke a smile as he stepped to the side, tripping over a piece of insulation in the process. "Did I not say that I was a man of my word?" He gestured to the broken window, their lone gate to freedom. Scyther and the grunt both exited the room in a mad dash.

Zoey situated Dawn and herself on top of Dragonite, securing themselves on his back. Ash looked at Jasper stoically, hiding his utter frustration and rage. "I never said you weren't, Jasper. But believe me when I say that this isn't the end. You're wrong about what you said, all of it."

The executive looked down, laughing. "You still don't get it, do you, Ash?" He looked back up, his grey eyes shining with evil victory. "It doesn't matter if we're right or wrong. What matters is that we're the ones with power. And, of course, your egg."

Ash opened his mouth to say something else, but Zoey's hand on his shoulder calmed him. He left Jasper in silence as Dragonite ran for the window, his wings pounding when they exited the building and flew toward the morning sunlight.

* * *

Brock and Leon approached the manhole entrance, its griminess contrasting the white tile of the rest of the base. Leon pulled it open, revealing a dimly lit ladder that ascended to darkness. He filed past Brock silently, mounting the ladder with his sleeve curled around his hand.

The repulsive stench of the vertical sewer hit them full force, and they both recoiled in disgust. Brock vomited at the bottom of the ladder, the acidic substance scalding his throat. Leon looked down and chuckled, his hatred for Brock seething within.

Brock wiped his mouth with his sleeve and covered his hand, the putrid liquid painting the blue fabric sloppily. "_Great," _Brock thought, "_I've worn this hoodie all of five minutes, and already I've up-chucked all over it!"_ He forced himself to grasp the rung of the ladder and begin climbing.

The rung's sliminess made Brock's sleeved hand slip and slide as he scaled his way up. Flecks of paint and hardened grime showered him like a ticker-tape parade. It got darker the further they climbed, and Brock had to start feeling around for the rungs. The cast on his arm didn't make the task any easier.

"Hey, Leon?" Brock said. Leon remained silent, and they continued climbing. "Um, Algernon said-"

"That's Commander Morawski to you, shitface!" he snapped.

Brock flinched. "Right. Anyways, Commander Morawski said earlier that your last name was Shinji."

"And?"

"You wouldn't happen to be related to a kid named Paul, would you?

Leon was silent for a moment. "That piece of shit's my nephew, believe it or not." His footsteps on the metal rungs grew louder. "Don't ask me where he is, because I couldn't tell you even if I cared."

"I believe it," Brock breathed. He felt Leon's foot kick his face, and he nearly fell off of the ladder. Blood started to fill his mouth, washing away the retched vomit with a metallic sting.

"Whoops," Leon said flatly. Suddenly, light flooded the narrow shaft, blinding Brock completely. Squinting, he looked up to see Leon, climbing over the ladder and disappearing into the light. "You coming, or not?" he called.

Brock scaled the rest of the ladder and poked his head out of the earth, gasping at what he saw. The two of them stood amidst a junkyard, one that stretched farther than he could see. Mountains of scrap and trash soared dozens of feet above them, casting shadows that could envelop the entire G-Men squad whole. The skyscrapers of Oreburgh City loomed in the distance, their height trumped by their distance from the junkyard.

"Does the Empire know about this place?" Brock asked, his eyes bugging at the sight of the colossal masses of garbage.

"This place is go goddam filthy no one would dare go near it, let alone any of those Rockets," Leon said. "That's why we built our base under here, by the mines." He jogged over to a suitcase that jutted out from the bottom of one of the smaller piles. Tugging at it forcefully, he fell backward as the case burst from the mass. Brock had to hide his snickers.

Leon got up and tossed the case to him. "Everything in there is yours," he said. "Just make sure that the gun is loaded."

Brock dropped the suitcase in shock. "Gun?" he stifled.

"The one that's in there is for training purposes. You'll get a more permanent match later on." Leon said. "That's not all that's in there, though. Open the damn thing!"

Brock unclasped the hooks, his sweaty hands fumbling to grasp them. Opening the case, he discovered a handgun with a holster, a brand new Poké Gear, a dozen Poké Balls, and a tiny, metallic ball that looked like a BB pellet.

"This is your training weapon, and your holster," Leon droned. There was no emotion in his voice; a robot may as well have been the one talking. "Six of those Poké Balls are empty, and the other six are pokémon that you'll use in training. If you decide to catch a pokémon, you'll want those empty ones."

Brock shoved the Poké Balls in his pocket and clipped the holster to his hip, sliding the gun inside. He made a grab for the Poké Gear, but Leon snatched it from him.

"I'm capable of using one of those," Brock said. "You don't have to teach me everything."

"This one's different. Any communication that this puts out is encrypted on both ends. Barkson had these modified for us."

Brock stared at the device with newfound confusion. "What does that mean, exactly?"

Leon sighed. "_Encrypted, _Brock. It means that no one can track you when you use this. It's off the radar, essentially. The only people that have access to its data are you and whoever you're communicating with."

"So basically the Empire can't detect this if I make a call or something?"

"Right. The only problem is that neither can the G-Men. All of the data is encrypted to the point that no one outside of whoever's using your device can see what you're doing." Leon handed Brock the Poké Gear and fingered the metallic pellet. "That's where this comes in."

Leon firmly grasped Brock's chin and forced his mouth open. Before Brock could protest, Leon jammed his hand into his mouth, pressing the pellet against the roof.

"Wait, what's this gonna-"Brock began, but a grinding pain in his mouth cut him short. He felt the pellet digging through the roof of his mouth, stopping only when the upper half was completely buried. He writhed on the ground in pain and clutched his mouth in vain.

"That's essentially your tracking bug," Leon continued. "That thing broadcasts your location to base, and acts as a microphone, too. If you're out on your own, that's the only thing that lets us know you're alive."

Blood began to trickle from the opening that the pellet left. Brock stood up and rubbed his chin tenderly. "Was that how you knew that Lance had found us? Because of this tracking pellet?"

Leon nodded. "Same thing with Kieran. " He gestured toward the gun at Brock's hip. "Take that out and make sure it's loaded. We'll start with shooting practice, since you'll probably be using that quite a bit."

Brock gulped and unsheathed the gun, keeping it pointed toward the ground. Leon pointed toward an empty soda can that lay several dozen feet away on top of one of the garbage piles. "I want you to aim for that can there. Try not to waste so much ammo, will ya? We're on rather short supply."

He nodded and raised the pistol toward the can, breathing shallowly as he tried to perfect his aim. After what seemed like a minute, he pulled the trigger, the boom of the gunshot startling him. His aim was thrown off, and the can still lay on the pile, untouched.

Leon put his hand to his forehead and sighed. "Don't crap out over the sound!" he snapped. "Everyone'll just think it came from the city. People are dying left and right every day, after all."

Brock said nothing as he raised his gun once more. Without even batting an eye, he rapidly pulled the trigger multiple times, emptying the clip completely. He grinned at his bravery, but his heart sank when he saw that the can hadn't moved an inch.

"If that can had a gun," Leon said, "you'd be dead. That's how bad of a shot you are." He swiped the gun from Brock and retrieved a small box of ammo from his pocket. "I'm giving you one more chance to try. If you can't hit it, then we're moving on." He finished reloading the gun and shoved it in Brock's hands.

He didn't hesitate this time to begin firing. He fired each bullet in rapid succession, his spirits soaring when the can flew back on the third shot.

"Yes!" he shouted triumphantly, but Leon dampened his mood once more when he took the gun again.

"Alright, maybe you're not a lost cause after all," Leon said. He emptied the clip and slipped the gun back into Brock's holster. "Let's see how you handle hand-to-hand combat."

"Hand-to-hand?" Brock asked. "Don't we just use guns, or pokémon? Why do we have to learn hand-to hand?"

"Because, shitface, sometimes your gun jams, or the enemy isn't using a firearm, or your pokémon are too weak to battle!" Leon practically shouted in his face now. "There's a load of reasons why hand-to-hand combat is important! Because it can save your live if a gun or your pokémon can't!" Leon turned from him angrily, walking toward one of the garbage piles.

"What weapon am I gonna use?" Brock called.

He threw his arms up. "Take your pick!" he called back. He grabbed from the edge of the pile a dusty crutch, the rubber tips colored yellow with age. "You don't use actual weapons, Brock. In the event that hand-to-hand becomes necessary, you simply use whatever you can find around you."

Without warning, Leon charged at him, his crutch raised like it was a club. Brock dived out of the way just in time, landing in a heap of trash and junk. He spotted to his right an old garbage lid, lying on top of a broken vase. He picked them up and ran toward Leon, using the vase as a sharp weapon and the garbage lid as a shield.

Leon swung the crutch at Brock, who blocked it with the lid. He drove the vase into Leon's hip, who gasped in pain as it shattered, blood beginning to seep through his pants. He fell to the ground, clutching his wound, tears of pain beginning to form in his eyes.

"Oh shit, Leon!" Brock exclaimed, "I swear I didn't mean to hurt you like that, I-"

Leon raised his hand to silence Brock, then closed his eyes and clutched his wristband, the one engraved with "EVERYTHING." His breathing became deep and heavy, almost like he was trying to relax himself.

"It's alright," Leon breathed, getting up onto his feet. "That actually wasn't too bad. Just do a fake out next time or something, alright?"

Brock grinned. "_Leon isn't lunging at me, or calling me a shitface? Hell, I'll take it!"_

"Sure," he said. "You alright? Maybe we should head back, and patch that up."

Leon shook his head and cracked a grin. "Nah," he said, and he took off his hoodie and tied it around his waist, right where the wound was. "We still have more training to do." His grin turned into a smile, one that seemed all too sinister despite his pain. "Throw that lid to the side and find something else, shitface."

* * *

The flight back from Headquarters was a silent one. Ash didn't say a word to either of them as he directed Dragonite toward an open field. Dawn laid her head on Dragonite's neck and closed her eyes. He kept looking behind his shoulders, expecting the barrage of helicopters to come after them. They never did. For once, Ash was travelling in peace.

Dragonite landed offhandedly outside of Jubilife in the vast expanse of open land. "_No way can we stay here for long, "_Ash thought,_ "but for now it'll do."_

Ash dismounted Dragonite, the grass reaching up to his hip. He took Zoey's hand and helped her off before they exchanged a prolonged hug, one that was ripe with tears and sniffles. "_They're alive,"_ Ash finally allowed himself to think. He did nothing to stop the salty tears from rolling down his face and into his mouth. "_They're alive. They're not alright, but they're here, and they're safe…"_

"Ash…" Zoey moaned. "I'm sorry…Ash, I'm so sorry…"

He broke the embrace and faced Zoey. "What are you sorry for, exactly?" He asked. Pikachu squirmed in his pack, struggling for open air. Ash unzipped it, and Pikachu burst out, briefly licking Zoey on the cheek before mounting Dragonite.

"It's our fault…that you gave up the egg," Zoey croaked. Her voice sounded hollow and withered. "If it wasn't for us, you'd still have it."

Ash shook his head. "I don't care about the egg right now. For now, all I care about is getting you guys somewhere safe." He gasped when he saw that four of Zoey's teeth were missing. "What did they do to you?!"

"Never mind that," Zoey said. "Please, I really just need some water."

Ash dug in his pack for his sole water bottle, which was filled only half way. He handed it to Zoey and patted Dragonite on his back. "Thank you, Dragonite. You've been a big help, but I'll need you for a little bit longer."

The pokémon nodded wearily, his attention focused on the diminished Jubilife skyline. Pikachu caught Ash's attention by tapping at Dawn's shoulder. Ash did the same, but Dawn never opened her eyes. "_No, she can't be dead! Please, Arceus, she can't be dead!_"

"Zoey, Dawn's not waking up!" he cried. He could feel the tears of pain welling in his eyes, the grief sinking in his chest. Zoey tossed the empty bottle aside and jostled over to her, examining her for only a quick second.

"She's sleeping, you nimrod!" Zoey hissed. Ash took another look at Dawn and realized that she was right. He began to laugh nervously, the pain and grief washing away. How could he have been so naïve, to just assume that she was dead? Pikachu and Dragonite joined him in laughter for a moment before Ash sat down, completely hidden in the tall grass.

"We're gonna have to find some more water," he breathed. "That and somewhere to hide. Any ideas?"

Zoey shook her head. "I haven't been in this part of Sinnoh for at least a year. There might be a lake south of here, but I'm not sure." The coarseness in her voice remained, but she no longer struggled to speak. She held her head up with her hand, her eyes struggling to stay open.

"You alright?"

She nodded. "The Rockets, they chained me to the wall upside down and left me that way all night. And they injected me with this fluid, I dunno what it did exactly. But before I knew it, my throat and mouth felt drier than all hell."

"That's sickening!" Ash cried. "What's the point of that?"

"To leave me there until I either talked or died. I would have hemorrhaged by now if you hadn't come for us. I'll be fine though, really."

Ash sighed. "The lake idea sounds perfect. We can find a lake somewhere, fill up on water, and from there – well, from there all we can really do is hide. I'm sure we can find a forest, too, or a cave system. Stick outside of Oreburgh, maybe?"

"Oreburgh works, but not in the caves. We could stay in the city, somewhere," Zoey offered. "Dawn and I took up an abandoned apartment complex in Veilstone. I'm sure that we could try something like that in Oreburgh, too."

Ash shrugged as Pikachu took up his usual spot on his shoulder. "We could try that, I guess. Was that where the Rocket grunts found you guys?"

Zoey nodded.

"Maybe it'll work this time," Ash reassured. "I mean, the Empire isn't actively hunting us anymore, right?"

She sat down next to Ash, the two of them acting as meerkats in the shielding grass. "What do you think they'll do with the egg?" she asked.

Ash glanced toward Jubilife, the Rocket Headquarters hovering omnipresent in the distance. The sun, radiant and yellow, rose behind it eerily, like it existed only to revolve around that building.

"I don't know," Ash finally said. "But I'm sure that whatever they do, it won't be pretty." The thoughts of what the Empire could be doing, what they _would _be doing to it, ran through Ash's mind. Every possibility and scenario played like a film reel in his head, each one just as sick and evil as the last. Tests, injections, tubes, scanners, scalpels…

"Draa-nite!"

"He's right. Let's get going," Ash said. "No need to waste more time than we need to."

The two of them stood up and mounted Dragonite once more. "Ready to take off again?" Ash asked.

Dragonite wasn't so sure of himself this time. He had to stare into the sky for a moment before finally nodding.

"Alright. Whenever you're ready."

The pokémon slowly kicked off, taking several minutes to get himself into the air. It seemed like an eternity before they were flying off, the field below them slowly turning into a dense forest.

"Hey, Ash?" Zoey said.

"Yeah?" Ash didn't break his concentration, his sights set on what was ahead of him.

"Well, uh, I just wanted to thank you for, you know, saving my life."

Ash continued to stare ahead. "Just be thankful that I knew that Dawn was there. If it wasn't for her, both of you might be dead."

A cold breeze made everyone shiver. "Let's hope we can find a lake quickly," Zoey mumbled. "before we _do _end up dead."

* * *

After a long day of training, a broken nose, and a bloodied cast, Brock greeted sundown with open arms. Leon made for the manhole, leaving him to gaze at the setting sun for a little while longer. He stared at it longingly, his mind empty. Of all the things he could be thinking about – Ash, Dawn, the egg, Zoey, Pikachu,_ himself_ – he thought of none of them. All he could do was stare at the weakening sun and hope that it would do the thinking for him.

It wasn't until the sky turned dark that Brock spit out a mouthful of blood and ventured back down the manhole. The stench hadn't gone away, but Brock wasn't as fazed by it this time. He managed to climb all the way down the ladder without spilling his breakfast all over the floor.

He glanced at the lights in the hallway with disgust. Compared to natural daylight, the lights that hung above the hallway seemed too white, too artificial for comfort. As much as he had hated training with Leon, he would do anything for another day in the sun, even if it was November.

There was no one waiting for him to direct him anywhere, so Brock made his way back to the Barracks. He wandered the halls for several minutes before remembering that they were directly connected to the Briefing Room. "_Just how big is this damn place, anyways?"_ he thought.

"Brock!"

He looked over his shoulder to see Kieran, running up to him.

"What the hell happened to you? You came back late from training, but Leon didn't mention this!"

Brock shrugged. "Doesn't he do stuff like that with everyone?"

"Yes, but he doesn't hurt them like this!" Kieran exclaimed, her voice almost raised to a shout. She wiped her sleeve under Brock's nose, wiping the blood as he winced in pain. "I think it's broken, but I don't wanna touch it and make it worse. Here, let's get to the infirmary. We can patch these up there."

Kieran grabbed Brock's hand and led him hastily down the hallway, making a sharp turn into what looked like the infirmary. A long table stood in the center, with cabinets and drawers lining the walls. She made for one of the cabinets and rummaged through it, finding a roll of bandages.

"How does your cast feel?" Kieran asked.

"I dunno. Sore, but I think that's alright."

Kieran frowned, unrolling the bandages slowly. "Getting these bandages on might be a pain. Can you breathe alright?"

Brock paused to breathe through his nose, which satisfied Kieran. She peered into his nose, concentrating on the slow trickle of blood. "We'll have to drain that before I can do anything." She ransacked the drawers, her search yielding a dropper pipet.

"I never woulda thought of that," Brock said, "and I've had medical training, too!"

Kieran grinned smugly. "Would you believe that I was in training to be a nurse before I joined up with the G-Men?" She raised the pipet to Brock's nose. "Hold still. This might hurt."

She squeezed the end on the pipet, drawing the blood from Brock's nose into the tube. There was a slight stinging pain in his nostril, but it wasn't too dreadful.

"I should say that you're a really good medic," Brock said. "If I was doing something like this, I only woulda made it worse."

"You're agreeing with me on something for once?" Kieran withdrew the pipet and set it on the table.

"Sure, I mean, I think I've learned by now to get along with you, even if you are a bit…well, iron-headed." Brock returned. Kieran found a piece of cotton and inserted it in Brock's nostril.

"That'll keep it in place while it heals," she explained. "So I take it that you don't hate my guts anymore?"

"No, that's not what I meant!" Brock stuttered. "It's just now that I've learned to like you."

Kieran laughed. "You mean like me, or _like _like me?" she said jokingly.

"Yeah, the second one."

Her face went blank, her mouth trying to form words in its flustered stupor. She cast her eyes to the floor and tried to comprehend what Brock had just revealed. Brock's mouth hung slightly agape, the shock of what he said registering on his expression. An awkward silence hung in the air, the pair of them staring at the floor, thinking of what to say to the other.

"Sorry if that seemed sudden, but-"Brock started.

"N-n-no, actually," Kieran stammered, "I'm a little relieved, I think, that you said that."

"Really?"

She lifted her eyes to meet Brocks, locking them in an immersed gaze. "It kept me from saying the same thing."


	27. Chapter 27

_November 28_

Laina awoke with a throbbing in her jaw. She tried to sit herself up, but a dull ache in her side kept her down. A burning sensation blistered over her wrists and ankles, which she couldn't help but rub gingerly.

"She's awake!" a woman shouted. "Someone go get Jasper!"

Laina didn't have to turn to see the cluster of nurses standing by her bed. Two of them left the room in a hurry, while a third started shining a light in her.

"The hell ya doin'?" Laina asked groggily. She swatted the light away and shielded her eyes.

"Sorry, Miss Woodwright," the nurse responded, "but we simply had to make sure that your vitals were functioning proper-"

"I've been unconscious, not dead! Where the hell am I?" she snapped.

"Hospital wing," she said. "Jasper brought you in earlier this morning. He's on his way now, he needs to speak to you about something urgent."

"That narrows it down," Laina mumbled. "Can I just get some water or something?"

The nurse produced a glass of water from nowhere, handing it to Laina cautiously. "Be sure to take slow sips, though. You don't want anything else happening to that jaw, do you now?" The nurse smiled cheerfully, a smile that Laina couldn't bring herself to return.

She only had time for one small sip of water before Jasper burst into the room, his teeth bared ferociously. He turned to Laina, his look of murder intensifying instantly.

"You!" he snarled. He charged at Laina, murder written on his fists. The nurses, all five of them, had to hold him back from Laina's bed. "You just _had _to go and let that fucker make you look like a little bitch, didn't you?" His face turned every shade of red that it could, constricting itself in anger.

Laina screamed. Never before had she seen her superior so vicious, so angry at her. "You don't understand!" she shouted. "That kid, he threw the egg, and-"

"Don't give me any excuses, Laina!" He stopped struggling with the nurses, but the anger still protruded in his voice. "You're a high ranking mercenary, not someone who can be beaten in battle by some teenager!"

"Ash is only a year younger than me, though! And if he hadn't thrown that damn egg at me, I would've killed him!"

Any anger that Jasper bottled up faded away in an instant, his wild expression turning into a tame one. "You're lucky that Ash didn't kill you after all," he said. "We got the egg from them."

Laina raised her eyebrows. "How? Did he just give it to you?"

"Not quite," Jasper said. He cracked a smile of victory, his pride shining in his eyes. "There was a tradeoff between me and him. He got his little friends back, and we got the egg. Everyone wins, right?"

She sighed in relief. "_No one ended up dead," _she thought. "_Ash and I are both happy now, at least."_

"Where's the egg now?" she asked.

"In the lab. Everyone there is working like mad, trying to figure out what it might be."

Laina stared at him incredulously. "You mean to tell me that we've been busting our asses for two weeks, only to have no idea what the egg was this whole time!"

"That's the thing, Laina!" Jasper exclaimed. "Even if it doesn't end up being anything significant, there's no harm done!"

"No harm done? Jasper, we've lost nearly three dozen of our men, and killed so many other innocent people just for this egg, and you're saying that it's no harm done?!" Laina slowly raised her voice to a shout, one that made even Jasper flinch.

"The people that died are nothing compared to what this egg can do, don't you get that? The-"

"How do you know that this egg can do anything in the first place?" Laina cried.

"All the signs point to it, Laina! Why else would it have fallen from the sky, or make that kid black out for no reason? This thing isn't ordinary, Laina, that's what I'll show you," murmured Jasper. "I'll show you, and the _world_, that everything we've done for this egg was worth it." Jasper got up to leave the room, but he stumbled and fell into one of the nurses arms.

"I'm alright," he mumbled. "Really, I-"

He couldn't finish his sentence before he blacked out. The nurses started screaming, but all Laina could do was watch in silence.

* * *

Day turned to night, and Ash's search for a water source turned up nothing. He sighed as the sun tucked itself away for the night, leaving Zoey, Dawn, Pikachu, Dragonite, and himself completely in the dark. A new moon took its place, so there was no light to guide them whatsoever.

"Maybe we should just land for the night," Zoey suggested. "There's no point flying if we can't see what's below us."

"Right. Dragonite'll need some rest, too." Ash peered over the dragon's shoulder to see if he could find any kind of a clearing. It was too dark for him to see one, but the reflection of a lake in the distance caught his eye.

He sputtered in disbelief. The one thing that they flew in circles for this whole time, and they find it only when night falls?

"Zoey, tell me that you're seeing what I'm seeing," he said, pointing to the lake.

She lifted her head and laughed. "Just our luck!" She motioned to say something to Dawn, but stopped herself when she remembered that she was still sleeping.

"She's been sleeping awhile," Ash commented. Dragonite began a steady descent toward the ground.

"I wouldn't worry about it. I doubt that she got to sleep at all last night, and after that little nervous breakdown that she had back in Jubilife, she could use a long nap or two."

"What was she going on about, anyways? She kept going on about 'Little Man' or something. You have any idea what that meant?"

Zoey shook her head slowly. "I can't help but feel like she knew what she was saying, though."

"I'm not sure I follow."

"Pika pi-chu."

She sighed. "Dawn knew what she was saying when she mentioned how Little Man would rise back up. Something tells me that she might've been…I don't know, _prophesizing_ something."

The unannounced rushing sensation of the aura kept Ash from responding. "_Oh shit, please, not this again!"_ he thought. He could feel his grip on Dragonite loosening, slipping off of his back.

"Ash? What's going on?" Zoey asked. "Ash, answer me!"

"Pika!"

He didn't hear them shout, however, for he lost all consciousness as he fell off of Dragonite, plummeting toward the earth.

In his vision, he felt himself hit the ground, but it wasn't made of dirt, or grass. Rather, it was a hard and dusty tile floor that broke his fall. Screaming could be heard all around him, and he looked up to see what looked like nurses, some running around, others trying to pick him up.

There was a figure lying down in the corner, he saw from the edge of his vision. He turned to see that she lay in a hospital bed, a cast wrapped around her arm.

"_Wait a minute…Laina?"_

He groaned, but the groan came out too deep, too matured to be his own voice. Looking down, he no longer wore his black hoodie or dark pants, but a pearly white jumpsuit. That was when he realized that he wasn't seeing some vision – he was in Jasper's body.

Suddenly, he felt something tug at his arm, and the bright hospital room transitioned to darkness. The rushing feeling was there again, but this time it felt too natural to be the aura.

"Ash!"

He looked up to see Zoey, hanging on Ash's arm, leaning over Dragonite's back. Pikachu stood behind her, guiding Dragonite in flight. Out of instinct, he looked down. The rushing feeling felt too eerie for comfort.

They were flying much lower than before. Too low. The trees of the forest nearly brushed Ash's legs as he glided over the canopy. The lake grew larger by the second as they flew towards it.

"Pull us up, Zoey!" Ash shouted. He tried to climb up her arm, but he couldn't pull his body up.

"I can't!" she returned. "I don't think Dragonite's strong enough to fly any higher!"

He could tell that she was right; if anything, they were slowly descending, the branches slowly trickling up Ash's body. But then the trees disappeared altogether. The only thing below them now was the glistening lake of water.

"Ash, I'm gonna have to drop you!" Zoey shouted. "It's the only way we won't crash!"

Looking down again, he gulped and braced himself for impact. "Do it!"

Zoey's grip on his arm loosened, and he plunged toward the deep, dark lake. The impact of the icy water against his skin stung worse than the physical impact itself. If swimming in the freezing river three days prior was bad, then this had to be hell frozen over.

The water stabbed every inch of his body, blinded Ash with a burning cold. He swam upwards madly, anything for some warmth, even if it the air was only slightly warmer. Breaking the surface, he saw Zoey dive head first into the lake a few hundred feet away. Dragonite, glided mere feet over the water, eventually landing on its feet just inches past the shore. Dawn, through the entire ordeal, slept through it all. "_We might need a Wake Up Slap for her,"_ Ash thought.

He swam toward where Zoey landed, reaching the spot of impact just as she rose from the surface.

"Swim for the shore!" he gasped. The two of them half-swam, half-paddled toward the end of the shore. Ash reached out to grab the dry land before a horrifying thought struck him.

"Pikachu!" he shouted.

"Pika!" the pokémon gurgled. Ash frantically yanked his bag off of his back and tore the front pocket open. Pikachu burst from the pack, gasping for air as Ash threw him onto the shore.

He pulled Zoey and himself onto dry land, the two of them shivering madly, collapsing to catch their breath. Dragonite leaped over to them, carrying Dawn on her back. Zoey stood up to thank him, but Ash still lay doubled over.

"Ash? Ash, are you alright?"

But all he could do was moan and shiver. He looked up to Zoey with weak, feeble eyes. "Why is this happening?"

Zoey said nothing, staring at Ash like he was delirious. "I-I-I-I-"she stammered.

"What is it that we did to the Empire?" Ash continued as he stood up. "Just because we were in the wrong place at the wrong time, we're all gonna die because of it." He released Torkoal, his emanating warmth calming their shivers.

"Don't say that!" Zoey cried. "That's not gonna-"

"No, Zoey, that _is _what's gonna happen! Even though we gave them what they want, they're still gonna kill us eventually. This whole time, we've been running from them so that we might be able to survive." The tears of anguish started to flow once more, but Ash could do nothing to stop them. "But we can't survive, Zoey. We can't win."

He collapsed to the ground, weeping and shivering silently. Pikachu ran up to him to comfort him, but Zoey only stood there, a grim look illuminating her face in the dead of night. There were no words that she could say to comfort him, no words to prove him wrong.

Ash couldn't blame her. The realization shocked her as much as it did him, he realized. All he could do was lay there and cry as Pikachu and Torkoal cooed him to sleep.

* * *

_November 29_

An incessant buzzing noise woke Brock up. He opened his eyes to darkness, the buzzing coming from his Poké Gear. Groaning, he pulled it out of his pocket and flipped it open.

The time on the clock read 2:23 AM. The screen displayed a call waiting for him. Brock didn't recognize the number, but he accepted the call anyways. "Hullo?" he said.

"Brock?" answered a male voice.

He got out of his cot and walked out of the Barracks. The cold tiled floor of the hallway seemed to tingle on his bare feet, but he didn't notice. "Yes, who is this?"

"My apologies," the man answered. "My name is Raymond McVries. I'm one of the G-Men agents that are based undercover at Rocket Headquarters."

"What?" Brock said groggily. "You mean you're actually in the building?"

"Not right now, no. I stepped outside for a moment. My bunkmates think I went out for a smoke," said Raymond. "Listen, I have-"

"Slow down!" moaned Brock. "Will you at least tell me how you got my number?"

"Leon passed it on to me," he said impatiently. "As I was saying, I'm calling you because I have good news and bad news."

"Alg- Commander Morawski or Sanus couldn't tell me in the morning?" Brock asked.

"They don't want you to be distracted from training," Raymond said. "But I think that this is something that you need to know."

"Fine, then. Start with the good news."

There was a pause. "Everyone's okay, Brock. Ash, Dawn, and her friend, too. I saw them earlier, and they're-"

Brock swelled with panic. "What do you mean you saw them?" he asked. "Why were they at Rocket Headquarters?"

"I don't know, Brock. All I know is that they were here, but that they got away. I think Jasper actually let them go. The girls were hurt pretty bad, from what I heard, but they all got out okay."

He held the phone away from him so that Raymond wouldn't hear his cries of relief. "_They're alive,"_ he thought. "_They haven't died. Maybe I can apologize now, for abandoning them…"_

"But then there's the bad news," Raymond reminded.

Brock put the Poké Gear back up to his ear. "Which is?" he asked nervously.

"I don't know how it happened, but Jasper got a hold of that egg, too. I think Ash had to give it up when he left."

He closed his eyes and willed himself not to go on a physical rampage. The one thing they had risked their necks for, the one thing that nearly got them killed on multiple occasions, the one reason why he saw so many people and pokémon die – and now gone and in enemy hands. Brock almost felt sick.

"What have they done with it?" Brock finally said

"I don't know. Jasper had it taken to the laboratory for testing, but besides that I have no idea."

'You say Jasper a lot," Brock pointed out.

"I'm sorry?"

"You're not saying that the Empire did any of this. Just that Jasper did."

Raymond sighed. "That guy's a power hungry maniac. He isn't running this circus for the reasons he says he is. All he wants is to feel powerful. I've only been here a week, and already this guy is scaring the shit out of me. He's killed at least three of his men because things didn't go his way. I'm scared of what he'll do to that egg, Brock."

"Is there anything you want me to do?" Brock said. He felt himself starting to tremble at Jasper's wrath.

"Yes," responded Raymond. "Whatever you do, you need to stay with the G-Men. You can't risk going off on your own at this point, and they're your best shot at survival from here on out."

Brock opened his mouth to say something else, but Raymond cut him short. "That's all I can say for now, kid. Commander Morawski's gonna give me hell for what I've already told you.

His tongue brushed the microphone that was implanted in his mouth. "Alright. Thanks for the information, I guess." He heard the other end of the call click without a response from Raymond.

He shoved the phone back into his pocket and shuffled silently back into his cot. Sleep overcame him instantly – there would be time to think about that conversation tomorrow.

* * *

Pain. It was everywhere, too intense for Dawn to even move. She lifted her head, only for her to set it back down, thanks to a crick in her neck.

Everything from the past two days seemed cloudy. "_I was…at their Headquarters,"_ she thought. "_Something…something about Little Man…what was that about?"_

Then the horrifying reality hit her, that everyone she knew was dead. Ash, Zoey, Brock, Pikachu, all of them. Dead, gone. Their gruesome deaths were so horrifying, so surreal that she doubted they were real. "_Were they? Jasper – he had that needle, so they had to be artificial. But they felt…real, tangible…"_

The pain was still too profound for her to move, but she muscled through it as she sat herself up against a tree. She blinked a few times to undo the blurriness that had developed in her eyes. What she saw made her wish she hadn't.

Ash's body lay a few meters across from her, coiled around a tree. The only thing that separated the two of them was a small patch of dead grass. A large lake painted the scene behind him. Pikachu's limp corpse, also coiled into a ball, lay on top of Ash's.

"_They…they died saving me?"_ she thought. "_But-no, I don't remember that happening. Everyone died, and they…"_

She burst into laughter suddenly. Even after she was safe, she thought, Ash's dead body was still there to torture her, to ward off her regenerating sanity.

Just what she deserved.

A short jostle of Pikachu's tail re-alerted Dawn. She scooted over to them, shivering as the cold, wet ground brushed against her lightly covered bottom. She made it halfway when a gunshot rang through the air. Dawn fell to the ground, playing dead for anyone that might be nearby.

"…Dawn?"

That sounded like Ash. She slowly lifted her head in his direction. Ash had sprung to life, shivering madly but otherwise alive.

"Ash?" she said. "Arceus, wha- what happened?"

"A lot," he mumbled. "Do you think you're alright? You look like shit."

"I've noticed," she said bitterly. She ran her hand through her scalp, or what was remained of it. Burnt patches of skin sent jolts of pain through her head. "My hair…" she whimpered.

"I'm not worried about that, really. All I care about is that you're safe. Once Zoey gets up, I'll explain- wait a minute, where is she?"

Dawn painstakingly got up on her feet, balancing herself on a tree to avoid from falling. She turned to Ash for help, but noticed that his holster was empty. "Ash, where's your gun?"

He grabbed for his side and cursed before flinging one of his Poké Balls into the air. "Magnezone, watch over Dawn while I go and find Zoey," he said when the electric pokémon materialized.

"Ash, wait!" Dawn exclaimed. But he was already bolting toward the gunshot, Pikachu sprinting close behind him.

"Mag zone _zone?_"

"She sat down to face Magnezone. "Yes, I think I'm alright. Sore, but alright."

"Zoey!" Ash called in the distance.

"Ash!" she heard Zoey call back.

"Pika!"

Dawn sighed in relief seconds later when the three of them returned, with Dragonite following close behind. Zoey carried a Bidoof carcass over her shoulder.

"I went out hunting for breakfast," Zoey explained. "I didn't want to wake either of you, so I just took your gun and left. Torkoal's back in your Poké Ball, but Dragonite kinda followed me; there wasn't anything I could do about that."

Ash gave her a reprimanding look. "I woulda preferred that you _did _wake me, Zoey. I was worried sick!"

"Sorry! I mean, it's over and done now, right?" Zoey reasoned. "And Dawn's awake, too. I think we should all just settle down and eat breakfast."

Dawn wrinkled her nose at the dead Bidoof. "What happened to all of the canned food that we had?"

"Gone," Ash said bluntly. "I had kept most of my food in Lance's bag, but that's gone now. We'll have to hunt for our food from now on." Zoey and Pikachu started collecting wood for a fire as Ash tended to one of Dragonite's bandages.

Dawn, meanwhile, stared into the ground aimlessly. "_Ash still thinks that the Rockets killed Lance,"_ she thought. Her mind started to race now. "_How am I supposed to tell him that I was the one that did it, that I was the one who killed the man that saved our lives?"_

She broke into tears in her panic, the guilt washing over her face. Pikachu and Zoey dropped their logs and ran up to her.

"Dawn!" Zoey cried. "Are you alright?" Ash caught up to the others, with Dragonite hanging back by the lake. He grabbed her by the shoulders and looked into her eyes.

"What happened?" Ash said.

"Ash, I-I couldn't help Lance, I-I'm sorry!" she blubbered. "The R-R-Rockets, they had us surrounded from above, and he…Ash, he told me to run!" The tears tickled her cheek, lingered on the corners of her lips. "I d-didn't want to leave him, Ash, but he kept telling me to run until…" She buried her head in her hands, wetting them with sweat and tears.

She felt Ash's ethereal arms wrap around her. "It's not your fault," he said. It sounded like he had shed a few tears himself. "Don't blame yourself for what happened."

Her tears clouded her vision, but that didn't stop her from catching Zoey's glare of resentment.

* * *

The familiar feeling of the rough hospital bed startled Jasper when he regained consciousness. "_Dammit,"_ he thought, "_how did I end up here again?_"

Then the events from the previous night came back to him. Blacking out suddenly, _the visions…_

"You're awake."

Jasper turned to see Laina, sitting up in her bed. Her olive skin seemed to blend in with the tiles of the hospital wing, her white, tattered jumpsuit with that of the sheets. There was no emotion about her, no excitement or relief or fright.

"Laina," Jasper gasped, "last night, when I slipped under, I…"

"You what?"

He tried to get off of his bed, but coarse, thin straps held him fast. "What the hell are these for?" he barked.

Laina shrugged. "What's wrong?"

"Whatever happened last night, Laina, it was because of that egg! It was only hours after I touched it that I-"

"_What_ happened, Jasper?" Laina asked. A hint of irritability seeped in her voice.

He sighed in frustration. "I felt like I was falling, Laina. But the thing that made it weird was that it wasn't me that was falling – it was Ash."

"So you saw him falling?" she asked.

"No, Laina. It's like I _was _Ash, like I was in his body."

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**I'm starting a Hunger Games SYOT (Submit Your Own Tribute) here on FanFiction. As such, I'll be dividing my time between this story and that one, so updates here will be a little more spaced out. If you'd like to participate in the SYOT (there's still a bunch of spots open), go check it out!**

**Also, I'm looking for another beta reader. I **_**do **_**have a few already, but it'd be nice to have another one. If you'd like to beta read, inquire within!**

**As always, reviews are appreciated, and thanks for reading!**


	28. Chapter 28

_November 29_

Ash ate his breakfast without saying a word to the others. He could only poke and prod at the wild meat that he had been served, his eyes cast toward the dirt that they sat on. The fire they had built silenced their shivers, if only for a few moments.

It wasn't until he had given his food to Pikachu that he noticed that Dawn had silenced herself as well. He perked his eyes up for a split second to see that she was staring into space, her food completely untouched.

"Stop it," Zoey suddenly snapped. "Stop it, right now!"

The two of them could only stare at her confusedly.

"Your silence is making _me _the crazy one! Now tell me what's bothering you, both of you!"

Ash spoke first. "Last night, when I fell, I had another one of those Aura visions." He expected Dawn to interject, but she said nothing.

"What's that?" Zoey asked.

"It's like these visions in my head that let me see into the future. Sometimes I see what's going on in the present, too."

"Wait, slow down," she said. "What do you mean by that last part? How are you able to see into the present?"

Ash scratched the back of Pikachu's ear, making the pokémon sigh relaxingly. "I can see what's going on somewhere else in the world. That's how I knew Dawn was in trouble. Without those visions, I would've died weeks ago." He sighed. "But last night, when it happened, something felt different." He started clenching his hands anxiously.

"How so?"

Ash turned his head away from Zoey and gazed at the lake, the one that he fell in last night. "In the vision, Jasper was on some hospital floor. But the thing that made it different was-" he trailed off.

"Was what?"

He broke his concentration and returned to Zoey. "It's like I was in his body when it happened, Zoey. I think that the egg might've done something to him that…" His eyes grew wide, and his mouth hung open.

"Ash? Are you alright?" Zoey asked.

Sputtering, he turned to Dawn. "Do you remember the day after we found the egg, when I fainted?" he asked.

But she looked zoned out, her attention anywhere but in the conversation as she cradled her head in her hands. Her eyes seemed empty, devoid of any emotion or recognition. "Hmm?" she said after a moment.

"The egg, Dawn, do you remember how I passed out the day after we found it?" he pressed.

She nodded slowly.

"I think that it was first encountering the egg that made that happen! And that must've been why the same thing happened to Jasper!"

"But Ash, how do you know that that's happened yet?" Zoey said. "How do you it wasn't something that's gonna happen in the future?"

Ash sighed again. "Because the way Jasper was moving is making me think that he was having the vision at the same time as me."

"That doesn't make sense, Ash!" Zoey cried. Veins bulged from her neck in frustration. "Why would that bastard have visions of something happening to him then?"

"There's the catch, Zoey. He wasn't having visions of himself, he had a vision of me."

She silenced herself in shock. Her mouth teetered open, confusion twitching on her lips. "So it's like your aura thingies are…connected?"

He nodded. "I think so, yeah."

"Great, isn't that just perfect!" Dawn retorted, breaking her silence. "That'll just end up being another way for Jasper to find us!"

Ash sighed. "_Here we go again with the 'We're not gonna die' talk,"_ he thought.

"Dawn, you know that's not gonna happen. I wouldn't let it," Ash said patiently. "Besides, Jasper even said that he's not gonna hunt us anymore."

Dawn stood up faintly, the tears of futility beginning to trickle down her face. "The man tortured me for a whole day, Ash, he made me think that all of you were dead! He's killed _two_ of my pokémon now, not to mention the others that they've either confiscated or destroyed. What makes you think you can trust him when he said that?"

It took Ash a moment to find the right words to say. He thought that he felt a frightful tear of his own forming. "We outran them before, Dawn, there's nothing stopping us from doing it again!"

"Everything's stopping us, Ash!" she wailed. "I mean, look at us! We have no food, almost no pokémon, only one weapon, and to top it off, it's getting colder by the day!"

"The pokémon we have are enough," Zoey pointed out, "and we can just hunt for our food. Staying warm isn't a problem, either. We have Torkoal, and it isn't that hard for us to make a fire. There's no immediate factor besides the Empire that's about to kill us." Ash could hear a straining in her voice, a straining to stay strong and composed. Pikachu cowered in fright behind Ash's leg.

Dawn threw her arms up in exasperation. "None of that matters! Those damned Grunts are gonna be everywhere we go, whether they're looking for us or not! And nothing's gonna stop them from killing us if we're found!" Her tears no longer trickled, they flowed. She briskly wiped them away with her sleeve before turning her back to the others. "Let's just keep moving while we can," she shot.

Ash and Zoey exchanged looks of pity as they grabbed for their belongings. Pikachu climbed on Ash's shoulder silently, his jovial "Pika!" nowhere to be heard.

"I wouldn't worry too much about her," Zoey whispered. "She's probably still a bit worked up over everything that's happened." She stamped out the fire, the black wisps of smoke thinning out in the cold morning chill.

He nodded. "Ready to get going, Pikachu?"

The pokémon nodded, taking a watchful stance on Ash's shoulder.

"_Good_," Ash thought. "_Because I'm not."_

* * *

Brock wiped the crust away from his eyes groggily. He sat up in his cot, yawning the tiredness away for the day.

The previous night's conversation with Raymond came back to him suddenly. "_Ash and Dawn are still out there,"_ he thought. He couldn't resist cracking a smile.

But the smile was washed over by an awkward remembrance of Kieran. Brock had hurriedly left the infirmary after Kieran said what she did. "_How could we both be thinking that, though?_" he thought. "_It just seems too perfect, for us to feel the exact same way."_

He stood up out of bed and stretched his arms, groaning contently as his knuckles cracked. Looking behind him, he saw that he was the only agent left in the Barracks. Just him, he noticed, unless you counted the baby Spinarak that lingered under the linoleum tiles and cracked walls.

The hallways leading out of the Barracks were just as empty. "_Dammit, I must have woken up late," _Brock thought. He jogged along the brightly lit hallways, pausing after ten minutes. "_Someone really needs to get me a map, or something!"_

Panting, he sat down along the wall, forcing himself up after only a moment's rest. Strolling through the corridors, they started now to twist and turn every which way, throwing Brock off even more.

"Someone looks lost," a voice called.

Brock swung around to see Kieran, standing in the middle of the hallway. Her blonde hair had been tucked into her hoodie, her hands shoved into her pockets nonchalantly. The radiance of the hallway only seemed to illuminate her, like she was a walking mirror.

_ "Shit. Her? Now?"_

"Hey, I-uh…" Brock stammered. He couldn't find the words to say to her. What _did _you say the night after you confess your feelings for her, running off almost immediately after?

She chuckled. "Second day this has happened, numbskull! You'll never make it to breakfast with the mental compass of a Slowbro!"

"I guess you're right," he said. He laughed nervously before Kieran gestured for him to follow her. They walked silently through the halls, Kieran's head high while Brock's hung low. Endless thoughts of what Brock should say zoomed through his mind, but he couldn't bring himself to open his mouth. "_At least she can't, either,"_ he thought. His stomach loosened with that thought.

"Leon said that you'll need your pokémon for training today," said Kieran. "He'll be testing their strength, to see what they can do in battle." They turned left into another hallway, breaking their continuous stride.

"_Leon handling my pokémon?"_ Brock thought in a mild panic. "_It's bad enough that he's broken my nose, now he gets to handle my pokémon?"_ Panic reeked in his breath, threatened to glisten noticeably in his eyes. He needed something to say to change the subject, anything to show that he wasn't-

"Sorry about last night," he blurted.

Kieran stopped in her tracks made a left-face toward Brock. "What's there to be sorry about? You shouldn't be sorry for telling the truth, you know."

"No, i-i-it's not that," Brock stuttered, "but I kinda left you awkwardly hanging after you said you liked me. I shouldn't have done that."

She raised her eyebrows smugly, the sarcasm dripping off of her lips before she spoke. "You meant what you said, didn't you?"

"Yeah, of course, but-"

"Then I forgive you for leaving me awkwardly," she chuckled. She wrapped her arms around Brock's neck playfully, but he shied away.

"This doesn't feel right," he said. "Being in any kind of a relationship with everything going on…there's no way it can work, can it?"

The two of them began walking again, making two more lefts in the span of several short seconds. "_If only I had a Psychic type that could use Teleport,"_ he thought.

"How so? What is it about the Empire, or the G-Men even, that would keep us from each other?" A hint of disappointment emanated from her very self, like a rose that could be smelled from dozens of feet away.

He sighed. "It just doesn't seem fair, I guess. I'm not saying it isn't a good idea, but for us to be happy and in love while everyone else in the world is dealing with the Empire…I'm just not sure if-"

Kieran broke her stride again and grasped Brock's shoulders firmly before pressing her lips against his. Brock grew wide-eyed at the sudden kiss, but he didn't complain. He was far from complaining, in fact. "_Woah."_

It seemed like an instant, but after a couple of seconds Kieran broke away. "Sometimes it might not seem fair," she said, "but that doesn't mean it has to be. Sometimes you just have to go with it."

Brock felt his rebuttal forming on his tongue, but he forced himself to push it away. There was nothing he wanted to do now to prove Kieran wrong; he just wanted to go with it.

* * *

The warm afternoon sun that burst through the tree branches beat on Ash's skin, but that wasn't saying much. Cold winds negated the warming rays of sunlight, making for an uncomfortable trek for the five of them. They could only walk a few feet at a time without stopping to warm themselves up with their arms, and even then the goose bumps wouldn't fade.

Dawn could hardly walk at all; he had to support her as they walked, to keep her from falling over. Zoey supported one side, while Ash had the other. Pikachu and Dragonite followed close behind, and even they were ailing considerably.

"Anyone know what time it is?" Ash asked.

Dawn slipped her arm out of Ash's grip and checked her Pokétch. "About one o'clock. Can we just sit down for a minute?" she whined.

"We have to keep moving, though. I don't wanna waste any more time than we need to."

"Come on, Ash!" Zoey objected. "It's not like we're in a huge rush to get to Oreburgh. We can't rest for a while? Besides, we can't have Dawn passing out on us."

He sighed in frustration. "Thirty minutes," he said. "Then we're back on the move." He set his bags down and lay down by a tree next to Pikachu, drawing his hood over his eyes. "Wake me up when we head off."

"Actually, Ash, I just had a thought. Would you want to help me find a pokémon to catch," Zoey said, "seeing as Dawn and I don't have ours anymore."

"_So much for sitting down for a little while,"_ Ash thought, withdrawing the hood from his eyes. "A pokémon? Is having an extra one really gonna help at all?"

"It'd be nice to have some company besides you three," she said, "not that I mind having you guys around, but-"

"It's cool, Zoe. Just let me see if I have any extra Poké Balls in my bag." Ash sat up and zipped his pack open, sifting for any of his Poké Balls. Pulling out four of them, he quickly realized that they carried Ash's stored items.

"Wait a minute," Dawn objected, "what am I supposed to do while you guys are gone?"

"I'm gonna leave you here with Pikachu and Dragonite," Ash said. He lobbed the Poké Ball into the air, the supply pile sprawling itself out on the hard-packed ground. "See if there's anything you can use in there. Zoey and I will be back in a bit. Just shout if anything happens."

"Which it won't!" Zoey quickly added.

The two of them walked away from Dawn, who started petting Pikachu lightly. She lost sight of them when they turned a corner around a large bush.

"So what kind of pokemon were you thinking of catching?" Ash asked.

"I dunno. We don't know exactly where in Sinnoh we're at, since we spent so long yesterday trying to find that lake. I'll just go for what I can find." Zoey took a swig of water from her bottle. "But that's not why I had you come with me."

Ash frowned. "Aren't I the only one with pokémon?"

"Right," Zoey said. "But there's something else that I wanted to talk about, too."

He knew the answer before Zoey could say it. "Dawn?"

She nodded. "Well, it's more about you than her."

The two of them stopped walking altogether. "What do you mean?" Ash asked.

A violent, chilly wind cut Zoey off before she could speak. "I can't have you losing your cool, like you did last night."

Ash closed his eyes and breathed. "What does that have to do-"

"Because I can't stand to see Dawn losing hope by the day!" Zoey argued. Anger began to radiate from her voice. "In the state that she's in, I can't let her suffer any more that she needs to."

"So you're basically telling me that I can't act out when something pisses me off?" Ash started to raise his voice to a near shout.

"It's not that, Ash, it's just… look, Jasper did something to her head when we were at Headquarters. Whatever he did, she isn't exactly in the zone right now. That's why I don't want anyone doing anything that might set her off."

Ash stared off into the distance and nodded. A calming sensation warmed over him. "I can't tell her, then, that…"

"Tell her what?" Zoey demanded.

He gulped and racked his head together. "Her mother died," he whispered. "I found out a few days ago."

Zoey gasped loudly. "She's…I can't…yeah, definitely don't tell her." The semi-guilty expression on her face suggested to Ash that she might have a secret of her own, but he waved it aside.

"So for now, just be strong?"

Zoey nodded. "Not just for her, but for me, too. I did an alright job of keeping her in check before we were captured, but since everything that's happened it's gonna be so much harder. I'm not sure I can do it on my own, to be honest."

"In that case, while we're here," Ash said, "there's something that I wanna talk about, too. I was gonna bring it up later, but I'm not sure how Dawn would take it, now."

She motioned for the two of them to sit, which they did. "What is it?"

Ash breathed. "We can't stay in Oreburgh for long," he said. "A day or two, at most."

The confusion on Zoey's face doubled. "Why not?"

"A few days ago, I found out that there's this group of people in Sinnoh called the G-Men. They're essentially the former government's secret service people. They've been looking for us, and-"

"Why?" Zoey interrupted. "We've already got the Rocket Empire on our ass, why are these guys trailing us?

"You don't understand, Zoey, these guys wanna help us! We can be safe with them!" He struggled to keep the excitement out of his voice.

"How do you know this?" she cried. "For all we know, they're affiliated with the Empire, or something!"

"Lance was with these guys in the past," Ash said. The excitement in his voice turned to defensiveness. "If I was able to trust him, then I can sure as hell trust the G-Men."

She sighed heavily. "Alright, fine. But how do you expect to find these guys? They could be anywhere in the region at this point!"

"Right," Ash said. "That's why I wanna keep us moving. Remember, they're trying to find us, too."

Zoey's eyes darted off to the side, her hand stretched toward Ash. Give me one of your pokémon," she whispered. "I see a Combee over there."

Ash peered through a branch on his left to see that she was right. A Combee knelt at a small puddle, lapping the water in it. "Take my Torkoal," he said, handing her Torkoal as well as the empty Poké Ball. "Just make sure you make the catch count. That's the only empty ball I have."

She nodded, her brow furrowed in concentration. She wordlessly flung the ball into the air, sending out Torkoal in a burst of red light.

"Torkoal, use Flamethrower!" Zoey cried.

If the pokémon was confused about Zoey commanding him, he didn't let it show. Instead, he threw from his mouth a jet of fire aimed at Combee. The bug type flew out of the way too late, and the flames clipped his wing. It tried to fly away, but his injured wing kept him on the ground. Dirt and mud matted together in his skin, turning his yellow body into a brownish mixture.

"God job, Torkoal! Now use-"

"Zoey, wait!" Ash called. "Don't do that!"

She kept her focus on the wild pokémon. "Why not? It isn't weak enough yet for me to catch it!"

"Right, but you can't let it get _too _weak! If you're gonna keep that thing around you, it'll have to have some energy! It's not like we can go to a Pokémon Center!"

Zoey cursed under her breath, a thick cloud of vapor forming in front of her mouth. "Alright, then." She clenched the empty Poké Ball and lobbed it into the air, hitting the Combee directly. The expected red burst of light, however, was hidden by a larger white glow, one that nearly blinded Ash and Zoey.

"Is it…evolving?!" Ash wondered aloud.

The shining white light extinguished itself as quickly as it had produced. Zoey looked around for any sign of the Combee, but all that stood before her was the Poké Ball, which trembled slightly on the ground.

"What the hell happened?" Zoey asked. "It looked like it was evolving, but it went into the Poké Ball before it could finish!" She eased herself toward the Poké Ball, staring at it with unparalleled concentration. It's almost like it was her stare that forced the Ball to recognize the catch after a few seconds.

"Yes!" Zoey shouted, her fist pounding the air triumphantly, "I caught a…"She frowned at the Poké Ball with confusion. "Is it even a Combee? For all we know, it evolved into a Vespiquen!"

Ash shrugged. "Only one way to find out."

Zoey nodded and unclasped the Poké Ball. The amount of energy that escaped from the Ball told everyone immediately that this was no Combee. The pokémon that stood up to their shoulders was too large, too wide for a Combee.

"_Vespi!"_

"Hi there, Vespiquen," said Zoey. Her flickering eyes showed nervousness, Ash noticed, but her voice remained firm. "My name's Zoey. This is Ash."

Vespiquen didn't turn to Ash, instead choosing to keep her focus on her new trainer. Zoey inched her hand closer to the pokémon's head, the nervous expression in her eyes increasing by the second. Ash braced himself for Vespiquen to lash out, and he hovered his hand over the holster on his hip.

But the pokémon never attacked. Zoey finally placed a tender hand on her forehead, and the Vespiquen lit up with compassion. Watching from the side, Ash could feel the trust, the newly forged bond exuding from the two of them, even from several feet away.

For a moment, everything seemed alright. In that moment of trust and happiness, Ash could pretend that everything seemed okay with the world.

* * *

Brock stood opposite Leon in the junkyard, hidden in the shadows of the massive heaps of scrap. Even from several dozen feet away, Brock could see the Poké Ball in Leon's grip.

He dug in his pocket for one of his own, eventually deciding on his Sudowoodo. "_He's a pretty strong defense," _he thought, "_so I'll start with him. After that, probably Croagunk…"_

"Go! Sudowoodo!" Brock bellowed, hurling his Poké Ball into the air. The rock type landed with a hard thud on the ground.

Leon gave an audible smirk. "Get 'em, Empoleon!" An Empoleon burst from the Ball, waving its arms fiercely. "Alright, let's not waste any time!" Leon shouted with confidence. "Emperor-Sama, lead off with Metal Claw!"

The behemoth of a water type charged at Sudowoodo, who frimly stood his ground.

"Dodge it, Sudowoodo!" Brock cried. "Then hit him with a Double Edge!" He found himself deeply immersed in the battle, but Leon showed a vague expression, one that showed a lack of interest.

Sudowoodo sidestepped out of the way, but not quick enough. Empoleon's sharp, metallic claws struck him in the chest, flinging him backwards about ten feet.

The giant raised his arms again, but Leon called out to him. "Stand back," Leon said with a smirk. "Let the weakling get up, first."

Brock gritted his teeth together in frustration. The intensity in his clenched jaw lessened when Sudowoodo stood up, his arms poised for a Double Edge attack. Without further command, the pokémon charged at Empoleon, the green bulbs on his hands igniting with energy.

The attack only slightly fazed Empoleon when it hit him square in the chest. Leon had to slap himself to hide his demeaning chuckles. "Now use Aqua Jet!" Leon eventually called.

"Counter it with another Double Edge!" Brock returned.

Empoleon disappeared in his water bullet, aimed directly for Sudowoodo's body. Rather than dive out of the way, Sudowoodo charged up his Double Edge, his face contorted from the physical stress. Just as Empoleon reached him, Sudowoodo struck him with his charged arms, knocking the water type clear over his head.

Leon gasped in shock as Empoleon collapsed to the ground, his body limp and unmoving. Even Brock stood in shock. "_Only two hits, and he's already fainted?"_ he thought.

The agent brushed the shock aside as he reached for his Poké Ball. "Empoleon, return!" The fainted pokémon de-materialized into the familiar red light and disappeared into the Poké Ball. "Let's go, P-"

A short ringing sound cut him off. Before Brock could ask what it was, Leon had opened his Poké Gear, holding it up to his phone.

"Yes?" he answered. "Mhhm…alright…whatever…" he clicked off the phone without saying goodbye. "Sanus says he wants to see you in the briefing room." Leon smirked. "Consider yourself lucky, kid."

* * *

Jasper took one quick look at the clock that hung above the doorway. "It's almost three o'clock," he said.

Laina opened her eyes and looked at Jasper rudely. "So?"

"_So_, Laina, it's been a day and a half since I've heard anything about the egg! I can't stay cooped up in this damn infirmary forever! I need to find out what's going on in the lab!" The irritation in his voice became more prominent with each word he said.

"Jasper, you can't-" Laina began, but Jasper already jumped out of bed and started for the door.

"Don't get in my way, Laina!" Jasper argued, his voice raised to a shout, "This egg is something I worked my ass off for!"

"Will you at least listen to me!" Laina said. He sighed and turned away from the door.

"What is it?" he snarled.

"This egg matters just as much to me as it does to you," she began. "But you can't become obsessed with it, alright? You're starting to lose control of your temper, and-"

"I'm not losing control of my temper!" Jasper roared. The anger welling up inside of him made him tremble, but Laina's hand on his arm calmed him.

"Please, Jasper, just keep yourself in check. The egg might have some power, but you can't let all that power get to your head."

Jasper saw the emotional plea in her eyes, the frightful tone twitching in her voice. He only grunted as he turned away from her, striding out the door with nothing on his mind but the egg.

* * *

**Authors Note:  
I've finally reached thirty followers! Thanks to the thirty of you who have stuck with me for as long as you have, whether it's been from the beginning or only a few chapters ago. I'd like to give special thanks to Alpha B.A.7, raze200, and Espeonage Espeon for their extended support!**

**On another note, I need some help for my Hunger Games SYOT. I'm particularly looking for a District 2 Female, among other spots that are still open. If you're interested, go check it out!  
**

**As always, thanks for reading!**


	29. Chapter 29

_November 29_

Brock took half of a deep breath before stepping into the Briefing Room. The intense bright lights hanging from above didn't faze him; he had grown used to the effulgence of the G-Men base by now.

Sanus sat alone in the middle of the room, hunched over a desk, hands jammed through his curly blonde hair. It took him a few moments to notice Brock in the doorway. "Brock, my boy! Good to see you!"

He stood up and advanced toward Brock with an outstretched hand, his expression as bright as the room itself. Brock reluctantly returned the hand shake, confusion washing over him.

"You seem happy to see me," Brock remarked. He grabbed for a metallic folding chair that leaned on one of the walls.

"Well, I haven't really gotten to talk to you much in the past few days," Sanus responded. "Besides your little briefing yesterday morning, we haven't had much time for a casual conversation, have we now?"

Brock couldn't help but feel uncomfortable at Sanus' cheery demeanor. Sure, he was almost always jocund, but now, when Brock had been called down for seemingly no reason…it felt creepy, almost.

"So, Brock," Sanus continued, "I just wanted to make sure that you're adjusting alright to the whole training thing. Everything going alright?"

The two of them sat back down, Sanus in his revolving chair and Brock in the folding one. Brock took the time to get his first good look at the Briefing Room. Monitors lined the wall in front of him, most of which were blank. A few of them displayed news broadcasts, but Brock didn't bother to stare at them for too long.

A score of wanted posters, lists, and other papers were tacked to the wall on Brock's left. Some of them look tattered, but the ones on top are fresh, their edges-

"Well?" Sanus raised his eyebrows.

Brock looked at him for a moment before blinking in confusion. "Did you say something?"

Sanus' booming laughter returned, reviving the fresh scars of the battle two days prior. Brock flinched in pain, but Sanus paid no attention. "I had asked if you were adjusting to everything alright. Judging by the way you zoned out, I think you're still in shock!"

He gulped before turning back to Sanus. "Yeah, I'm doing alright. I wouldn't call it shock, though. More like disbelief."

"Disbelief at what?" Sanus asked.

Brock shrugged. "Everything that's happened, I guess."

"Care to explain?'

He breathed deeply. "These past two and a half weeks have been laced with crap that I can barely believe. Not only has the entire region fallen to shit, but I've nearly died, like, half a dozen times now!"

His face turned red, and he stood up out of his chair. "To top it off, I've had to watch countless people die, whether they were fighting against me or with me. So many people that I know are either dead or missing, and that includes my parents!" He raised his voice to a shout and slammed his fists on the table in attempt to release his anger. It didn't work. "And now I'm stuck with you guys as you try to take down the Empire somehow! If you don't call that unbelievable, Sanus, then I don't know what is!"

Deep, shallow breaths quavered out of Brock as he closed his eyes and slumped into the chair. Sanus simply stared blankly before grinning a little. "That's the normal response," he countered. "There may be a hint of survivor's guilt in there, too."

Brock stared back with weak, searching eyes. "Is what we're doing right? Fighting back, I mean?"

Sanus leaned back in his revolving chair and breathed deeply. "Lemme tell you something, Brock. Of the thirty four years I've been alive, I've been with the G-Men for eighteen of them. In those eighteen years, I've seen a lot of the same shit that you have. But every time I saw that shit, there was always a reason to fight back."

"But why now, when we're the only ones left standing?"

"Someone has to, right?" Sanus stood up and paced back and forth. "Someone, or something, has to be there to keep darkness at bay. Because what's light without a little darkness?"

"How is that supposed to justify killing, though? Why is it that we can't-"

"Because when you're being shot at, you don't worry about morals!" Sanus shouted. Brock recoiled at his temper, having never experienced it first-hand. "You worry about saving your own goddamn life!"

Brock cast his head toward the floor, fighting to keep the tears of frustration from flowing. "Lance used those same words," he mumbled.

Sanus breathed deeply, flushing the anger out of his body. "It's sort of a mantra around here. It's true, though. You can't think about killing, you just gotta do it. Sorry I-"

"Forget it. What about some of the other regions? Are they doing anything?"

Sanus looked away from Brock and turned to the monitors. "No idea. The regions under Rocket control – Sinnoh, Kanto, Johto, and Hoenn – have been isolated from one another since their respective invasions. As for some of the others – Unova, Almia, the Orange Islands – communications can't be established with them, and even then they're too far away to offer any help."

"So it's just us, then?" Brock asked.

The older agent became fixated on a news broadcast, a dimming display in the corner of the room. Three men were kneeling on a cracked and holed-up street, shotguns nuzzled against their heads. Sanus could only continue staring as three gunshots cracked in unison, as the bodies fell to the ground, their skulls as broken as the road they lay on. It may have only been television, but to the two of them, it may as well have happened right in front of them.

Brock had to cover his eyes from the television, but Sanus didn't bat an eye. Instead, he turned away from the monitors and back toward his chair. "Algernon and Mara are working on battle strategies, ways that we can pull off a counter-offensive," he rambled. Any hint of remorse or shock in his voice was latent. "For now, though all we can do is wait."

He wanted to say so much, ask a billion questions, but he suppressed them all. "Alright, then. Is that all that you wanted to talk about?"

Sanus grinned. "There was one more thing, actually. I dropped in on your conversation with Kieran a few hours ago."

A wave of curiosity crashed over Brock's annoyance at Sanus' eavesdropping. "How'd you hear that?"

The agent opened his mouth and pointed at the roof, reminding Brock of the microphone bug. Brock internally winced at the pain of having that thing implanted inside him. "Right," he said. "Forgot about those things."

Sanus exploded in a booming laughter once more, but Brock didn't even flinch. "So, you and Kieran are in some kind of a relationship, now?" Sanus asked.

"No! It's not like that!" Brock said a little too quickly. He could feel his cheeks going red, his insides turning over in knots. "At least, not yet. We- well, I mean, uh-"

The agent smirked and leaned back in his chair. "It's alright, lad, I've been there. Hasn't everyone at some point?"

Brock shrugged.

"But there's one thing you should know, however. We're not against love, but we know how dangerous it can be. At the worst of times, it can change people for better or for worse. Usually the latter. Love Kieran all-"

"We're not in love!" Brock defended.

"Let me finish, will ya? Love Kieran all you want, but don't become obsessed with it. Love can do pretty drastic things to a person, and that's the last thing we want for you, is too drastic of a change. Got it?"

He nodded. "I understand. We're not in love anyways, so I guess that can't be too hard. Anything else you wanna lecture me about?"

"Yes, actually. Almost directly above us is a parking garage. It'll be next to the junkyard. In case we ever have to evacuate, there'll be manholes, much like the one you use to get to the junkyard, that lead up to the garage." His playful expression abdicated in favor of a stern one. "We have a bunch of getaway cars up there, if it ever comes to it. You know how to drive?"

He shook his head, prompting a sudden boom of laughter from Sanus.

"None of us do. But if it ever comes to it, we'll learn by doing. For tonight, though, just go grab yourself some dinner and kick your feet back for the rest of the day. You probably need some time alone, too, given the eventful past few days."

He started for the door, but he stopped midway and turned again to Sanus. "You say I need some time alone, but you don't think I'll be alone, do you?" he asked coyly.

"I don't think it, I know it."

* * *

Jasper kicked the door to the laboratory wide open, knocking it off of its hinges. The men in the lab snapped their heads wildly, staring at Jasper with a wild, frightful expression. Jasper eyed each and every one of them, looking them in the eyes despite the dim light of the laboratory.

"The egg," Jasper growled. "Where is it? I need to see it!"

A man in the far back, decked in an apron and horn-rimmed glasses, sheepishly raised his hand from the back of the room. "It's back here, sir. In the Containment Pod."

Jasper brushed past the scientists and approached the man, who held a clipboard under his arm. "Back to work, all of you!" he barked. Everyone except for the horn-rimmed glasses man shuffled back to whatever they were doing before he made his grand entrance.

He turned back to the man. "Don't just stand there! Where's the damn egg?"

The scientist, whose name was Edward judging by his name tag, hurried over to a small machine, with Jasper close behind. The executive could only gawk in disbelief at the contraption, which looked more like a microwave than anything else.

"It's just some metal box!" Jasper shouted. He surged toward Edward until he was spitting in his face. "I can't even see the egg in that stupid thing! Are you supposed to tell me that-"

Edward held up his hands in defense, but that didn't stop the barrage of blows to his face. Jasper dealt blow after blow to him, stopping only after he held up a tiny remote. Edward only smiled as he clicked the lone button on the remote, sparking a whirring sound behind the two of them.

Jasper said nothing as he turned back to the machine, gasping slightly when its metal exterior retracted to reveal the egg. Various wires and hooks poked from the egg, which lit up with a faint blue hue.

The executive felt his insides warm up in relief. He extended his hand toward the egg until he laid his hand on it, stroking it with a passionate finger. Suddenly, his anger collapsed to nothing but calmness.

"Sorry about that," he mumbled to Edward.

"I wouldn't touch that if I were you," he said. "We haven't done enough tests to corroborate its stability."

Jasper frowned. "What tests have you done, then?"

"At this point in time, all we've done are tests to pinpoint what species it might be. Every single test has come back inconclusive."

"That can't be!" Jasper barked. "Show me!"

The scientist nodded and started tapping at a screen on the console. A slew of search boxes popped up, and Edward poked at the first one before clicking "Go."

"I'm opening up the data range so that no pokémon is excluded," said Edward. "But when I do that…"

A long list of Pokemon appeared on the screen. Jasper read the first few names on the list before his heart sank. The first result read, "Bulbasaur," the second, "Ivysaur," the third, "Venusaur." The names went in National Pokédex order, Jasper realized, but every single pokémon was listed.

"It's simply giving me every single Pokémon that exists within the database," the scientist explained. He pushed his cracked glasses back up his nose. "That's almost five hundred of them. No matter how much I tinker with the search parameters, I come up with this every time."

But Jasper was beyond hearing now. He could feel everything he had worked for, everything he did to get this egg, collapsing inside of him. "So exactly what are you saying, sir?" he trembled.

"That until we run more tests, there's absolutely no way of-"

Jasper didn't let him finish before knocking him to the ground. "Don't you feed me that bullshit!" he shouted. "I didn't hire the world's most renowned lab technicians for you to fail me now!"

In his anger, he flipped over a table of papers, sending them flying like it a ticker-tape parade. Edward stumbled back several feet away, but that didn't stop Jasper from advancing toward him.

He raised his fist to strike Edward again, but caught the disgruntled looks of the other technicians in the room. "What are you looking at?" he shouted. "Did anyone tell you to stop? Just because I'm beating this poor man to death, does that make it alright for you to stop working?"

A single scientist stepped forward from the pack, tightening his grip on his clipboard. "No one told us to stop," he said. "But I'm telling you to."

Jasper smirked at his bold approach. "Wrong answer."

Lying on a table to his right was a scalpel, its tip bloodied from an earlier dissection. Clenching it with his good arm, he raised it and drove it into Edward's heart. The scientist's eyes lit up with shock, but to Jasper it was nothing more than pain. Everyone else in the room screamed, or ran out of the room, but Jasper lingered and smiled at the dying man's suffering.

He motioned to remove the scalpel from Edward's chest, to stab him again, but a sudden stinging sensation in his neck stopped him. Putting his hand to neck, he gasped as he plucked out an empty Sleeping Syringe, a lone drop of the orange solution remaining in the vial.

Slipping to the ground, the last thing he saw before he fell under was Laina, standing in the doorway, a Syringe gun pointed at where he lay. A single tear rolled down her cheek, for she knew that she failed to keep Jasper in check. The egg had finally consumed Jasper, and it was all her fault. She dropped the gun and wiped the tear away, taking away with it every will to be a Rocket.

* * *

Ash fumbled in his backpack for the roll of bandages. The sunlight had been extinguished for the night, and he didn't dare use Pikachu as a flashlight, not when they ran the risk of being seen. He glanced at Dawn and Zoey, cocooned in the only blanket that they had. Pikachu lay next to them, with Dragonite sitting up against a fallen tree, his eyes half open.

His hand chanced upon the bandages after what seemed like hours of searching. Unrolling them, his heart sunk when he saw that he had less than a quarter of a roll left. "_Will this even be enough to wrap my leg?_" he thought.

He slid his pant leg up to reveal the diminished wound, dried blood only dotting the surrounding area. A massive sigh of relief escaped him when he saw the miniscule damage. The cut from Laina's knife had clotted over. "_At least it isn't infected anym-"_

"How'd that happen?"

Ash turned his head slightly to see Dawn, her elbow propping her up. Her eyes bugged at his wound.

"It's nothing, Dawn," said Ash. "Just go back to sleep."

Dawn frowned. "Not until you tell me what happened to your leg!" she whispered

"Shh!" Ash hissed. "You'll wake Zoey up!"

"You're being louder than I am right now!" Dawn retorted. "And I wasn't shy about what happened to me, I think that you-"

"I got shot, alright?" Ash snapped. Dawn gasped in horror, her eyes growing even wider. "I'm fine, though. Just don't worry about it. This leg's the least of my worries."

Dawn remained silent as Ash finished wrapping the bandage around his leg. Once he finished, he turned back to her. "And no, we're not gonna die, since you've asked me twice in the past two weeks."

"I wasn't gonna ask that," she said defensively. "I was just wondering about your egg, was all."

Ash said nothing as he lay down on the ground, clutching the grass like a blanket. The uncontrollable shivers took hold of him once more, but he didn't bother releasing Torkoal to keep him warm.

Thirty minutes came and went, but he didn't find sleep in any of them. Somehow, he could still feel Dawn's eyes staring him down, even when his back was turned to her. A quick rotation of the head proved his suspicions to be true.

"Yeah?" Ash asked.

It took Dawn almost a whole minute to respond. "Do you think Brock's okay?"

"No," he wanted to say, "I think that he's dead, because he deserves it for ditching us." He opened his mouth to say exactly this, but stopped himself at the very last second.

"I don't know," he said instead. "Depends on where he went off to. He might not even be in Sinnoh, provided he was able to make it out."

She sighed. "It's just…Jasper made me believe that he had died, along with everyone else."

Ash sat up again, sending a wild Burmy that nuzzled against his foot to hurry off in a frenzy. "None of that happened, remember? It was all just an illusion. I'm sure that he's fine." He said that last part with gritted teeth.

Dawn said nothing and looked up toward the canopy that enveloped them. "How can we know for sure, though?"

Ash shrugged. "We can't, I guess. You just have to feel strong about it. You never know how strong you can be until it's the only option you have left, right?"

He barely saw her nod in the darkness. "I suppose. Goodnight, then."

"G'night." Ash turned away again and lay down, falling asleep even after he felt Dawn's eyes upon him once more.

* * *

Brock forced himself to wait until the other agents in the Barracks were asleep before rising from his cot. He would've moved out quickly on his own, but his bare feet trickling against the cold linoleum flooring sent him out into the hallway in a mad dash. He immediately turned right, then made a left down the first adjoining hallway he saw.

"She said left, then right, then the first door on the right," Brock muttered to himself. "But why would Kieran have us meet in a broom closet?"

Caught up in his thoughts, he almost missed the right turn. He backtracked into the correct hallway, finding himself standing in front of the first door on the right. With a small breath of anticipation, Brock lightly grasped the doorknob and pulled the door open before being pulled in by an unknown force. The door seemed to shut on its own, leaving Brock in the pitch-black closet.

"Ow!" hissed a voice. "You're stepping on my foot!"

Brock sighed in relief when he realized that it was Kieran that pulled him in. "Maybe if we had a light, we could actually see what we're doing! You're the one that's trampling over my cast!"

A flashlight blinked on suddenly, revealing Kieran's upper body in the light. She still wore her G-Men uniform, but her hair flowed down her shoulder much more smoothly, a step up from the frizzled mess it normally was.

"This better?" she asked.

"Loads," he replied. "Listen, Sanus knows about the two of us."

He expected Kieran to start worrying, but she only smirked and shrugged her shoulders. "It's not like he'll tell anyone. We're sworn to secrecy about practically everything here." She laughed. "Granted, this'll be more of an unspoken agreement."

She moved in for another kiss, her lips slightly puckered. Unlike last time, Brock didn't even bat an eye. Their lips met, and even in the darkness Brock could see Kieran's eyes light up with excitement. Judging by the sudden butterflies in his stomach, his eyes were probably doing the same.

One kiss became two, and two became several as they held each other in their arms in silence, neither of them desiring to ruin the mood. With each passionate kiss that passed, their grips on each other grew tighter, their breathing deeper.

Brock realized then that of all of the girls that he had met, let alone flirted with, Kieran was the only one that he felt truly happy around. Sure, the other dozens of them were nice, but Kieran…she was different, but in her own way. Not even Croagunk's Poison Jab could efface his newfound feelings for Kieran. "_So this is what I get for spending more than three days around someone other than Dawn,"_ he thought.

After almost ten minutes of love-making, Brock finally broke away from the embrace out of exhaustion. "Never made out in a broom closet before," he panted.

"A date's a date, I suppose," said Kieran. "Have you ever kissed anyone at all, even? No offense, but you kiss like a Politoed."

Brock laughed. "Easy on the sarcasm! Maybe it's my first time kissing a girl, but that's only because you're the first one I've ever wanted to do it with. You've beaten out at least twenty nurses, Kieran. I'd take pride in that."

She smiled. "I guess I'm just one of the lucky ones, then."

* * *

_November 30_

Laina frantically shuffled through her pockets with her one good arm in search for any loose change. Finding none, she cursed and cocked her head toward Jasper. She sighed in relief when he saw that he still lay unconscious.

Another look at the grocery bag of belongings that she had assembled prompted her to dump its contents on the adjoining hospital bed. A plastic bottle of water, her Pokémon, a few packets of food, and some spare ammunition rolled onto the bed, clunking noisily as Laina cringed in fear, clenching her hand over Jasper's gun in her holster.

The early morning sun peered in through the lone window, which caused Laina to re-pack with renewed vigor. There was no telling when Jasper would regain consciousness, but Laina didn't want to stick around for that show.

She reached for a first aid kit in a cabinet above her head. "_Is this all I'm gonna need?"_ she thought. "_There's only so much I can take with me, especially if-"_

A loud moan from behind Laina startled her. She turned to see Jasper, his eyes slowly opening, mouth cracked open. Her mind told her to run, but she didn't budge. In her frightened state, she could only watch in fear as that…that _madman _woke up.

When his eyes were fully opened, they narrowed on Laina almost instantly. The anger, the sheer fury glazed over his face, but he said nothing.

"I tried to keep you in line," Laina trembled. Her eyes were nearly closed, trying to hold back tears. "But this is just too much. I'm done."

Jasper stared at her incredulously before allowing himself to chuckle. "The Rocket Empire isn't something you can just walk away from, bitch."

"Watch me," she said, pursing her lips defiantly.

His face wrinkled up in rage, and he tried to get up out of his bed. The coarse medical straps kept him down once more. "Who keep using these fucking straps on me?" he roared.

"That was me, this time. Maybe when you decide that killing is bad after all, I'll have someone take those off."

"You can't do this! You can't leave The Empire!"

Laina grabbed her grocery bag and started for the exit. "I didn't join up with The Empire to be the right-hand woman to a murdering psychopath! Doing what I do is one thing, but I'm not gonna stand by and watch you kill innocent people!"

Her hand was on the doorknob when Jasper said, "But imagine the power we can share, Laina!"

Out of curiosity, she sighed and cocked her head back toward her former superior. "What are you talking about?"

Jasper's anger turned to giddiness. "Forgetting about what happened last night, I feel like we're on the verge of a breakthrough with this damned egg! The power that I know it can deliver can, and will, change the world! That's the power I'm talking about."

Laina turned the doorknob again. "Stand in the ashes of those you've killed and ask the ghosts if power matters. See what answer you get then." Without another word, she left the room and exited the building, ignoring Jasper's death threats that followed her out.


End file.
